Aris Sturisdottir
Between the depth of woods in Alaska,
A small youngish girl with shiny silver hair sat in a lotus position among the snow. She lived alone with her father, a man called Edvar Stroud, in the log cabin nearby. Her name was Aris Sturisdottir, the same surname as her mother, whom she did not get to know. Even so, she was happy living with her father, who used to be a soldier but retired to take care of the child when her mother died. Now, he was something between a woodcutter and a hunter, famous for selling good pelts and meat to make a living.
Winter was as harsh as any season to them, the snow never stopped falling. Even so, it was not from the cold that the girl complained, it was quite the opposite.
She loved the cold.
At the moment, it was midday and her father went out hunting. Instead of waiting for him inside the cabin, she was outside meditating as shown in the book. All her senses were heightened as she cultivated, she could feel the snowflakes gently biting her skin.
With her eyes closed, she couldn't see that as she breathed in and out, some bluish-white particles were forming around her. It mainly came from the snow that had accumulated on the ground and after a while these particles would enter her body as she breathed in.
These bluish dots were called: Qi
As the Qi entered her body, she felt refreshed. After two days of hard work, she had accumulated on her body quite a bit of it. Inside the place the book referred to as "Dantian"- near her heart - there was a small amount of Qi the size of a fingernail.
Minutes passed by and she kept cultivating.
After some time. . .
"Bang!"
The girl felt like something had exploded in her mind, painlessly. At the same time, the Qi she had stored in the dantian spread over her body. It molded her bones, muscles and skin. Her mind became clearer and she felt even more connected with the snow.
She opened her eyes and got up.
Looking around she noticed that there was way more snow near her than other places. As if when falling, the snowflakes were subtly attracted towards her. Almost like she had a magnetic field, a snow magnetic field!
Slowly, she cleaned herself and walked over the nearest tree.
Preparing with all her might she punched.
*Thung!*
The tree trembled a bit and the snow piled up on the branches fell on her head.
"Hehe!" she giggled innocently.
When she lowered her fists however, five fingers could be seen on the trunk.
"So this is how it feels to be in the Body Cultivation Stage-1! This is marvelous!'' She was amazed by her own strength, even her father couldn't accomplish such a feat!
The book stated that there were nine stages in the Body Cultivation and she was only in the first level. It was said that cultivation improved the body's constitution as a whole, its strength, resistance, recovery and longevity. Aris could only imagine how much stronger she would become, perhaps even surpassing the heroines in the histories she loved.
The book also explained that the next step after the Body Cultivation-9 was called Foundation Establishment, but didn't explain how the transition worked or what benefits she could get. But that would be a problem for the future.
Suddenly a deep voice called behind her.
"What are you doing there my little girl?"
Turning back, she saw a big bearded man carrying a black bag on his shoulder.
"Father!" She ran to his embrace and asked. "How was the hunting?"
"Fine. . . fine" he said while patting her hair. "The animals were a bit restless today, I've spotted more wolves than usual. Anyway, guess what we have for lunch?"
"Deer?!" She jumped happily.
"Yes kid, go inside while I clean it." He pushed her away and went to the side of the cabin.
"Okay dad!"
**********
Inside the cottage, Edvar had already cleaned the meat and went to the kitchen to prepare the food.
He turned on the TV to hear the news.
[Journal]
A gorgeous blonde journalist was in front of a huge building, behind her hundreds of flags could be seen, each from different countries.
". . . and perhaps this is the biggest event in decades. We can only wait until this exceptional conference to conclude, for now we can only speculate.
Even though we have shown you the falsehood of the imagens on the internet, there are still people buying and falling for scams! It was said that even some companies spent millions of dollars on it.
Remember: there is no way for the human being to become powerful as said in these false books, that is all fantasy!
Do not believe in fake news!
As of right now, we are still waiting for an official statement from the government. Most countries' representatives are here in Europe to discuss this urgent matter…"
The TV turned black.
"You have one of those books, don't you girl?" asked her father in an inquisitive tone.
"W-What book. I d-don't have any!" lied the girl, peeking at her room where the book should be hidden under her bed.
"Don't lie to me, I've seen it." He looked at her with his piercing eyes. It was impossible for Edvar not to notice how strange his daughter had been acting these past few days.
She couldn't hold any longer and gave in.
"Yes… it is under my bed." she said dejected
Instead of taking the book, he just continued to look in her eyes.
"What is so special about this book that all the companies and governments want them? Can you explain it to me?"
"T-They lied on the TV, it is true that we can become stronger! I can feel the mysterious energy called Qi and use it to become strong, do you believe me dad?"
Edvar Stroud went closer to her daughter and patted her on the head.
"I do believe you my princess, from the way they are talking on TV I can assume that the books are real" He shrugged and smiled. As an experienced soldier, he had seen many things that would never be shown to the public. "You are too young to understand."
"Will you sell my book, father? I know we are short on money, but I could help you with hunting.... or even getting a job with aunt Andressa!" She looked at him with teary eyes, the book was now her most cherished possession.
"I won't, this thing is yours. Somehow I feel you have been chosen to get it." He smiled at her childishness. In fact, he did not take this event seriously. "But I need you to promise one thing: You can't tell anyone about it at all, not even to aunt Andressa, understood!?"
"Okay, Father!"
She promised with a bright smile on her face.