6 || The First Seclusion! The Essence of Light!

If Shuyren was being honest, half a day was far too long but anything less might not be enough. What had happened to Tara possibly changed her fate, let alone her family.

"Insights take hold better when one is true to themselves." Shuyren undoes a portion of the seal on Tara, allowing Tara to see her animus features. With this done Shuyren leaves and Tara begins her first seclusion. Tara forms her hands to make the symbol for a sword. Since swords were the familial weapon, the Hufang's found it easier to channel and move their energies with this symbol as the focus.

For the next six hours, Tara sits still as a stone in this pose, shifting through the energy buried within her. She's only able to get through a small portion until she collides with a phlox pink wall that seals off her path. Tara assumes what she's filtered is probably more than enough. It would likely take her the rest of the entire week, maybe even more, to read through all of the thoughts she's organized. For the rest of today's time, she begins to go through the information. This initial chunk of information carried basic information.

The first and most surprising to Tara was about the Body Altering Stage. Tara knew what the first five stages were called and the order they were to be followed, even had a little idea of what occurred when each was unlocked. From this ancient energy, it was said that there were not just three more levels beyond Vein Plating but six! However, Tara can't see what the final three called any more than the last initial three.

It was similarly blocked by that pink energy but even so, Tara's shocked. Just how strong could a person be by reaching these levels? Tara almost breaks her focus from excitement at the prospect of this news.

The second, and probably more important, carries information about the two rarer elements. Light and Darkness were two of the harder to understand because they were concepts people couldn't come in contact on a physical level. Now Tara holds some rudimentary understanding towards them.

If the other elements were like a color wheel then the Light element is the color white; a combination of the other six elemental energies. In turn, Darkness was the color black; the absence of all elements, malleable and intangible. They were two sides of the same coin.

Something people got wrong about the two: Light wasn't good nor was Darkness evil. It was all concerning who was using each and how. Tara views that ancient psychic energy held secrets that lean more towards the light.

Specifically, they focus on three divisions of light: sunlight, moonlight, and a combination of the two called eclipse light. Solar energy was easier to circulate during the morning and lunar during the evening. Learning to use both at the same time was extremely difficult but combining them was like climbing a mountain entirely unprepared.

The words Twin Sphere Technique enter her mind but before Tara weighs the pros and cons of which energy to study, her first twelve hours have finally finished. Her carefully formed concentration is broken but Tara retains what she's learned. Immediately, she's at the desk, writing down what she's found and her own thoughts of what she could comprehend.

Tara feels proud that she's made progress as she gets everything down. Once she finishes, her writings on paper disappear until she wills them to reveal themselves. This was a special scroll her grandmother had prepared because Tara couldn't use diamond scrolls yet. Tara finishes her pre-bed activities, absolutely famished and exhausted from using up so much of her own mental strength to concentrate, and goes to bed as quickly as possible.

In her dreams that night, sometimes she is in a desert under a blazing sun. Overhead a single phalto green swift flew about, never landing as she walked underneath on the sand. Other times she is walking in a midnight forest under the turquoise light of the moon. Blending among the shadows is a black stag who she was hunting. Or was it hunting her?

When she awakes the next morning, the dream was forgotten but Tara feels more rested than ever before. This time when she takes her meditative pose to move her aural energy, her left hand forms a sun symbol while her right is a moon. Bright amber sunlight surges clockwise while turquoise moonlight glides counterclockwise within her body.

Because of the constraints of her seclusion, Tara hasn't been able to fully circulate lunar energy yet. With it being weaker to sense during the day, what she was attempting was extremely difficult. Regardless of how little the advancement, Tara now finds it easier and faster to further study the ancient energy now.

Tara quickly falls into a comfortable routine of meditating on the elder power, recording what she learns and her views of it before completing her nightly routine. A week passes by and before Tara knows it, her notebook is almost half full. And this was only the start of a bit of knowledge she pulled!

"You've down well, my starlight!" Shuyren praises, using a similar set up like a week before with Kohra and Ashne present within a sense-proof barrier. In Shuyren's hands, sitting at a desk with Tara to her left, was what Tara had written so far. Just by flipping it one could see she made a lot of insights.

"I hope the Twin Sphere technique can help out the family," Tara beams at Shuyren's words. As Shuyren starts reading, Tara feels very nervous.

"Light-based energy gathering techniques are very rare. The fact that you've discovered two of them is practically unreal. What did you mean by adding a different type of energy to your aura? Right here?" Shuyren points at a spot that didn't make sense.

"The memories said that sunlight and moonlight are called the Twin Sphere energies. So imagine if you could make your aura stronger with them? If you collect enough of them then they'll form their own threads of power like the aural ones! Once you say the special chant then all of a sudden bam! Your body either feels nice and toasty or cool and refreshed whenever you use your energy!" Tara chirps knowingly.

The three women look at her in awe. What Tara was talking about was more than a simple energy gathering technique. This was an energy conversion technique, an additional skill!

It was said that a few families in Riversword had a natural affinity for the Water, Fire, and Metal energies. If one could strengthen their aural energy with an element, then it would take on similar properties while also increasing their growth speed when crossing the stages. However with such a boost to their abilities, it was only accessible after reaching the Vein Plating stage.

Kohra and Ashne sigh. They were happy that the Matriarch could use this to grow stronger but given Chun's talent, their daughter would likely never reach Blood Directing.

"Oh! I knew I forgot to mention this part!" Actually Tara had rewritten her entries into a separate book.

When she had asked for a second notebook and a small spatial ring for it, nobody batted an eye. So until she had more to go on, in order to keep her family safe, she kept mentions of the three other Body Altering stages and the possibility of eclipse light with her.

"Since Light is always around us the same way Darkness is, it ignores the rules of the other six elements! See, look!"

The three women watched as Tara formed the sun sign on both of her hands, grinning as her aura flashes into existence. A persistent aura was a sign of Skin Igniting, and with the solar energy stabilizing Tara, nobody would be the wiser! Tara's white aura shield naturally gave off a warm feeling as they inspected her inner energy. Among the violet, cobalt, and phlox threads were signs of sunny amber.

"Can we tell whether moonlight or sunlight is better for a person?" Kohra asks, not able to hide her emotions. Ashne nods beside her, wringing her hands with anticipation. Tara smiles and nods before frowning.

"Before I share this can you go get my parents?" She asks nicely. Tara was aware her mother would be leaving at some time in the next week. It was for her mother's sake that Tara had pushed herself. "Also can someone get two clear elemental crystals for each person?"

`Even singulars can use this technique?` Ashne asks herself as she goes to find some crystals and Kohra vanishes to get Tara's parents.

Both of her parents are happy to see their little girl again after so long. They knew she would grow from this experience but didn't know by how much. They certainly weren't expecting for her to have a true aura before breaking into Skin Igniting .

Shuyren quickly conveys what Tara had just told the three women, causing her parents' jaws to hit the floor. Just this information alone could change their entire family and yet the surface hadn't even been scratched yet.

"So what I found out was that clear elemental crystals are good for figuring out people's affinities!" Tara says, even though she was certain the adults knew this already, "But did you know that if too many people use the same crystal, the result becomes harder to read? That's why I wanted two! To figure out which one is better for you just make a sun or moon sign and focus your aura on the crystal! Then the brighter it is the better you are at it!"

Tara demonstrates with her own crystals, one turning shining bright amber, and the other haunting turquoise. Both were equally as bright because she was trying to aim for eclipse light control but to the adults, it merely meant she was adept at the Twin Sphere technique.

Everyone takes the test revealing that Shuyren, Di, and Ashne favored solar energy while Casian and Kohra favored lunar energy.

"You mentioned a chant to turn these energies into our own?" Shuyren questions after they all took a moment to match their auras with the vibe of their crystal. As it was still morning, Casian and Kohra only felt a faint change within them. Nevertheless, they were amazed at how different they felt. They could only imagine what would happen when they attempted gathering at night.

"May the sun's light energize all minds, grow all bodies, and warm all souls. Pray that our path is bright as we head beyond the twilight. May the moon's light repose all minds, calm all bodies and explore all dreams. Pray that our path is bright as we travel to the next dawn."

Tara spoke each word carefully, having practiced each part to herself while she had analyzed and studied the memories.

'May an eclipse's light broaden all minds, temper all bodies, and nourish all souls. Pray that our path is bright against fickle luck, forewarned destiny, and ultimate fate.' Tara thought, keeping the final part to herself.

As Tara watches the three women recite the solar energy enchantment, each of them feel sunlight interwoven into their aura instantly. Di and Shuyren stand a little straighter as Ashne's eyes sparkle like Tara had never seen before.

"The last thing written within your notes is about a movement technique, something you already showed us before. It says here that there are two different ones. Seeing as you have an affinity for both paths could you demonstrate?" Shuyren says as she finally stands up from the desk, notebooks at hand.

"I'd like to look at techniques before I share them. Can I request Zewan and Chun to stay here though? Seclusion is really lonely, Baba, I don't know how seniors do it." Tara attempts to bargain. Shuyren can't help but smile at this. Indeed walking down the aurator's path could be very lonely.