Chapter 4 - Qi and Mana

Maya returned to the courtyard. All the children sat watching Maikal intently and with anticipation. Maya brought breakfast to all the children which consisted of pieces of hard black bread and some warm goat's milk.

However, when she passed by Nerun and Maikal she did not hand them anything, as she grumbled. Nerun couldn't help but pout.

"How can you treat your father like that? It was just a touch, it's not like I did anything wrong, I mean, I used the bathe you when you were a little baby girl, I've seen everything before." Maikal couldn't help but say in a serious tone as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

"Scoundrel!" was all Maya said as she looked at him sideways.

Maikal coughed a little embarrassedly and quickly changed the subject: "Well, where were we? Can anyone tell me what the most dignified profession on the continent is?"

Miriam immediately replied "Being a princess" with sparkling eyes.

All the other children laughed, but the truth was that many in the past had dreamed of being nobleborn, and always having a full belly and not having to be in need. Maya looked at her fondly, after all, Miriam was the youngest of the children, only four years old.

"Warrior" then said another 8 year old boy, named Brandon.

"Interesting answer... Why not become a craftsman or be a painter, or be a baker?" asked Maikal.

"Because in this world, strength rules. Only if you have enough strength can you stop others from humiliating you and doing whatever they want to you. Every profession is worthy, but only those who have failed to follow through with their training as warriors go into these other jobs, and if we are warriors we can be the ones to give them orders and they can only obey," Said Sylvester presumptuously.

"Hahahahaha... You are and are not right. You never know when some baker or some peddler is actually some great expert in disguise who can kill you with just a breath. Even the village drunkard could be someone who could break all your bones if he wanted to." Maikal said as he gloated and the children laughed.

"Granted, few people with real power would do that kind of job, but in any case, it is important not to humiliate others just because you have a little power and think you are above good and evil. You never know if the one you are humiliating is an all-powerful being who could destroy the city you live in with a flip of his hand if provoked. For instance, I've heard stories of a blind monk who is also a beggar, who was mocked by a certain tribal chieftain from Rhodnius. That night the tribal village with over 15 thousand warriors, several of them Qi Monarchs and even one Qi Sage among them, was completely obliterated and every warrior was hung from their toes in several poles in front of the destroyed village, with all their bones broken."

He continued misteriously. The children were completely wide-eyed and many swore to themselves never to bother any blind person they ever encounter.

"But Sylvester is right that on the Great Continent, power is reason, and if you have enough strength you need not even worry about what the king of Ansem thinks. If you have enough power, even the Vicar of Mainal himself will open the gates of the Temple for you, so that you can surround yourself with riches and honour. All that on the condition that you can put everyone under your feet. If you do not have that strength, then you are nothing but a braggart, and braggarts are the first to die." Maikal said getting the attention of each of the children.

"In this world, there are two paths you can follow to gain power as stipulated by EON from the beginning: the first is the way of Qi, what we commonly know as the path of the Warrior. The other is the way of Mana, which is known as the path of Magick.

The way of Qi refers to obtaining the energy that surrounds us, the Natural Energy of Heaven and Earth and making it one's own, in order to strengthen the bones, the muscles, the skin, in short, the physical body of the warrior as well as his soul, where his will lies. This is the grand path of the Warrior. As you go along this path, people become more and more powerful. The physical power increases superhumanly, to the point, that powerful Qi users are able to cause earthquakes just by stomping their feet, or even move at supersonic speed, or cause hurricanes just by shaking a hand".

"Ooooh!" the children said while looking at each other with amazement.

Stars shone in their eyes. In their little minds, they imagined what it would be like to be able to cause earthquakes just by walking. They imagined not only having that power, but they understood that if they could reach that level, no one would ever humiliate them again and they would never have to go on an empty stomach again.

"I'm a Qi warrior myself. Not to brag, but in this village there is no one stronger than me." Maikal said proudly, hoping the children would tell him how much they admired him.

However, all the children were looking at him strangely, because Maya was frowning and saying very slowly "Show-off!".

"Hahahahahaha". Laughed the children loudly, which caused Maikal to feel a great deal of embarrassment. He quickly became furious and shouted

"ENOUGH!".

His shout caused such a hurricane wind that all the trees in the courtyard bent under its force and the children were almost blown away by the strength of the wind, some of them spilling the milk they had not yet drunk. All the children were stunned into silence when they saw what Maikal had done just by raising his voice.

"Did you all see that?"

Said Maikal proudly. But Maya rushed over and smacked him on the head.

"What the hell do you think you are doing wasting the milk that we were able to buy for the children with so much effort? Just for that, today I won't give you any money for liquor?"

Said Maya with an angry face. At the threat, Maikal seemed to shrink back and Nerun said in a quiet voice to the others. "It seems Maya is the most powerful woman in the village. I must remember to make her less angry".

All the other children nodded in agreement.

"And what is the way of Mana?"

Brandon asked, wanting to hear more about it. Once again Maikal became serious and began to explain:

"First you have to understand that in this world everything fulfils the law of balance. Good and evil, hot and cold, strong and weak, pleasure and pain, high and low, in short, the whole world is made up of these dichotomies. Qi and Mana are also a duality and are arguably the most important of them all. Both are based on the energy of heaven and earth, but their use is completely different. While Qi transforms our physical body and soul, Mana transforms the mind and spirit. When energy is transformed into Mana, Magick users are able to communicate directly with the natural world, so that they get it to lend them some of its power. Great Wizards and Mages are able to blow hurricanes, shake the earth or create tsunamis. They can summon the natural world to help them fight for them. All the boys were stunned at these words.

"And which is stronger of the two?" asked Sylvester.

"Hehehehehe, talking about which is more powerful between a Qi warrior and a Mana user is a difficult question. Picture a powerful Qi warrior. With a strong stomp he is able to create a great rift in the crust of the earth. A Mana user of great power could command the earth to open up itself and destroy everything around him. The result is similar, although the means are different. In the end, who is stronger depends on one's degree of advancement on the Qi or Mana path, as well as one's potential and understanding of his or her own power and personal way. Each has advantages and disadvantages. Starting on the Qi path is easier because it only requires each of you to train your own body, as you have been doing. You are all potential Qi warriors. And I have done so because I use Qi myself and I understand it the most. I could not adequately explain to you how to use mana, although it is true that I understand a little of it. To use Mana however, you must have a special talent for communicating with the various essences of the world, and in the realm of Ansem such a talent is exceedingly rare, less than 1 in 10 thousand people have it. Although I know of other realms where this ratio is even more exaggerated with lower odds, and even places where it is completely reversed and there are more Mana users than Qi warriors".

"Then, will we all become Qi warriors in the future? I'd rather be a pretty mage. I wouldn't want to have big muscles like Sylvester," asked Miriam as she felt frightened by the idea.

"Hehehe, having basic training as a Qi warrior will help you in whichever path you choose, I assure you. After all, a healthy mind needs a healthy body." Answered Maikal.

"And why not be both? If each has advantages and disadvantages, then it is better to be both. Then I would be invincible." Said Nerun as he felt very smart about the idea he had mentioned.

"Idiot," scoffed Sylvester. "Even I know that the balance of EON, as taught by the Church, relies upon the existence of separate things, opposites that can not be joined. No one can break the balance, so if you become too powerful in Qi, your ability to use Mana will be supremely limited. Likewise, if you use Mana, the Qi you have accumulated in your body will vanish."

"Sylvester is right. Don't try to take on more than you can. There are people who in the past have tried to walk both paths at the same time, but the difficulty is not only supremely high given the rejection between Qi and Mana, but no one has ever been able to go beyond level 19 in both systems, forever stuck at that level."

Continued Maikal trying to speak clearly so that the children would understand. Their future could well depend on this information. "The best thing to do is to choose one of the two paths and dedicate yourself to it. In both paths, either Qi or Mana, as you become more powerful, it will be more difficult to move forward. Because it depends not only on the amount of energy in your body but also on your capacity for understanding yourself and the energy that surrounds you, as well as your persistence, tenacity and hard work. There are nine great levels of cultivation on both paths, each step with 9 sub-levels, and the really strong people in the world have devoted great efforts to advance in them."

All the children were excited when they heard these words. Nine great levels of cultivation. Many of them were just beginning to accumulate Qi in their bodies with the morning exercises and understood how hard it was, since they had not even reached the first step, becoming Qi Masters. Still, and even though they partly understood how difficult it might be to continue on that path, they longed to become stronger, and thus earn the respect of others.

"Who are the most powerful people in the world?" asked Nerun.

"I of course am part of them" Maikal said with a laugh.

All the children however looked at him with distrust.

"Brats, who don't know how to appreciate what is truly good," said Maikal. "The truth is, I do not know. There are many very powerful people in the world. Each of the six Great Territories of the continent has people who are capable of shaking the kingdoms and the continent with their power alone, not to mention the barbarian lands, the small countries, as well as the lost islands in the Great Ocean. In our kingdom itself, Ansem, there are the three Dragon Generals, who are some of the most powerful people in the world, and of that, as citizens of Ansem you can be proud. The royal family also has very strong warriors among their ranks and the royal guard at their command as well. However, if I had to say who the most powerful people in the world are, the simplest answer would be the Vicar of the Temple, who hears the voice of EON, and the 6 Seneschals.

The Vicar is the leader of the Church of EON, who commands over all the archbishops and bishops of the Temple. His power is inscrutable, as he is said to receive the blessing of God himself and is even able to part the oceans with such power. The seneschals, on the other hand, are the six people chosen from all the great territories of the continent who serve directly under the orders of EON. They are people of the highest power in both Qi and Mana, and throughout the history of the continent, each new generation of the seneschals is recognized as the most powerful people in the entire world.

Qi and Mana are both mysterious. I encourage you to keep training hard, each and every one of you. I will teach you how to be powerful warriors so that you can not only survive but achieve your dreams. Only those who never give up can truly achieve anything in this life. Trust me when I tell you that," Maikal concluded.

'Unbelievable' thought all the children.

"I'm going to be a Seneschal," Brandon said excitedly.

"And me," others started to say as well.

"Let's keep training. We all have to get stronger"

Said the children as they smiled and quickly began to continue the morning exercises. Maikal looked at them with joy and curiously glanced at Nerun, who was running along with some of the other children. Then he looked up, and a deep sadness immediately seemed to flood his face as he fumbled in the pockets of his damaged clothing for what appeared to be a chain with a rough stone of little lustre. Then he seemed to fill with determination and rising to his feet, he began to chase after the children and they went on with the day's lessons, training their bodies so they could keep getting stronger.