Chapter 7

Lycurgus looked at his brother quizzically, studying him as if he was a foreign object.

"How far did you get in training your Tarmata with dad?"

Lysander shrugged.

"I just started learning the basics."

Lycurgus stroked his mustache if you could even call it that.

"So, you understand what it is correct?"

Lysander made a face of relative confusion.

"It's like the ocean dad said, with a limitless depth of power or something like that."

Lycurgus shook his head with a smirk on it.

"Dad always did struggle to describe what it was, but then again he's a beast of endless power and a natural."

Lycurgus picked up a single leaf off the ground.

"Mom describes it as the threads binding life itself."

He looked at his brother's face and then shrugged his shoulders.

"Not that she's wrong, in fact, it's a good analogy, but does it give clarity to you?" pointing at his brother.

Lysander shook his head no; his parents were always speaking in riddles that went over his head.

"Exactly, so I'll do my best to explain. Tarmata is in all life forms and, more than likely, nonliving things such as water, rocks, air, and so forth. Your Tarmata within your body is nothing more than your limiter or base level. For instance, this leaf can only hold so much Tarmata, watch closely."

Lycurgus closed his eyes and focused for a second as Lysander stared at the leaf; suddenly the leaf burst apart.

Lysander stared in awe; Lycurgus cleared his throat as he looked at his brother. "This is what you've been doing as we were carrying the fish."

Lysander stared at his brother with a confused look.

"How is what you did with the leaf and what I'm doing the same thing?"

Lycurgus gave a smile to his brother, "the technique that you were using is better suited for short bursts, not long durations. What I did with the leaf is what you were doing with your body. Instead of supplying a constant stream of Tarmata, you were supplying rapid bursts of energy. You probably noticed that your body was beginning to heat up and that you were feeling very fatigued. This is because your body was the leaf."

Lysander nodded his head and started to understand what his brother was getting at.

"So, you're saying there is a better way to apply my Tarmata?"

Lycurgus nodded more so in pride that he was getting through to Lysander rather than answering his question.

"Your Tarmata serves as a form of energy, that's the reason dad told you it was a limitless ocean because of your potential. The fact that you were able to carry the fish for long as you did in such an ineffective way proves his point."

Lycurgus then picked up another leaf, closing his eyes and focusing on the leaf while Lysander stared at it. Lysander stared for a long time, and nothing happened. Finally, after a moment he got impatient and asked

"Are you going to do anything with it?"

Lycurgus cracked a slight smile and opened one eye,

"Oh, I did something to it."

He walked over and handed his brother the leaf, setting it in his hands, Lysander was surprised by the weight of it.

"Try to tear it"

Lysander gave his brother a quizzical look. He looked down at the leaf and tried to tear it. But to his surprise, the leaf wouldn't rip.

He looked at his brother and asked,

"What did you do to the leaf?"

"Same thing mom does to her thread,"

Lysander shook his head,

"Please just be straightforward, no riddles."

Lycurgus sighed,

"There's no riddle, that's literally what I did. When mom weaves, she channels her Tarmata into the thread that she makes. This is what makes them so durable. I poured my Tarmata into the leaf but differently from the first leaf."

Lycurgus grabbed two leaves this time and held one in each hand.

"Imagine going from zero to ten, which stands for the limit of the leaf and thus the body. When I made the leaf burst that was making the leaf go from zero to ten, but faster than the leaf can manage. Now saying that you're doing the same thing is not entirely true."

Lycurgus shrugged "You are just simply flexing and pulsing your Tarmata throughout your body. Your goal needs to be channeling a steady stream that is more powerful than your regular strength."

Lysander finally understanding what his brother was explaining asked

"So how do I do that?"

Lycurgus knelt facing the ground, placing his finger in the dirt he drew a line.

"Imagine your Tarmata is a bucket of water, and this line in the dirt is your body. You can fill the lineup differently depending on who you are. If you start by allowing the water to trickle in slowly, you'll have more control, but the process is slower. If you try to pour it in fast, you'll accomplish your goal but will waste much of your water. If you start with the trickle and gradually increase the speed, you can find a median of the two approaches."

He looked into his brother's eyes

"I personally like to use my breathing as a way to control it but allowing each breath to energize me I subconsciously increase my Tarmata thus my strength."

Still slightly confused Lysander decided that it was best for him to try.

He closed his eyes, focusing on the flow of energy coursing through his body. He could feel it, like the torrents of a river throughout his body. He could even feel it in his fingers as he moved them around, tingling and flexing. He took a breath, swelling up his lunges he could feel his chest expanding, it felt as though he was suffocating till, he exhaled the breath. He had felt the power surge through him, but it wasn't lasting, once he exhaled the flow of his energy went back to normal. He opened his eyes and looked at his brother, who was now standing and watching him, he asked

"Shallow or deep?"

Lycurgus smiled noticing his brother was beginning to understand

"Do shallow breaths, which may work for you."

Lysander nodded as he closed his eyes again. For a moment he paused to study his flow, and a thought began to creep into his mind. What if he didn't need a certain way of breathing to control his Tarmata what if he could simply do it? The thought lingered for a moment dancing around in his mind, till he decided to try the shallow breaths. He began to take sharp shallow breaths; he felt his energy swell within him but the suffocating feeling intensified, and he wound up breaking his concentration.

He suddenly began to understand the extreme difficulty of channeling a more powerful stream of Tarmata. He started to understand why the leaf was so hard to tear, it wasn't simply the Tarmata strengthening it but the strain of the power coursing through it, hardening the exterior. He looked at his hand, the power of all that seems to be invincible was coursing through his very fingers.

Lycurgus smiled at his brother

"Well, you seem to have realized the fundamental, or at least the theory of application."

He looked up at the sky, grey clouds were looming over in the distance. Lycurgus figured this would one of the last days like this for a while.

"We've spent enough time here; you can practice as we continue our track to the cave."

Lysander nodded in understanding, excited at the proposition of training this new understanding.

"Oh, and one more thing, breathing is how I came to understand how to do it. It might not work for you I know father used a unique way and so did mom, so you'll have to figure it out."

Lycurgus said as they picked up the fish.

Some time passed before they rested again, Lysander was drenched in sweat while Lycurgus barely looked tired. Lysander couldn't seem to figure out a way to comfortably amplify his Tarmata. He tried breathing, flexing, thinking, focusing and even humming but all were met with a different form of failure. He found himself switching between the different styles when one became exhaustive and that was the only way to keep up the pace. Something else bugged him, when he would check on his flow it wasn't beginning to deplete at all. That same torrent of energy was still coursing through him, yet he felt exhausted.

Lycurgus took a swig of water and then offered his brother some. Lysander snatched the pouch in a ravenous furry, gulping down the cool water. It helped to cool him down and rejuvenate him. Lycurgus studied his brother. He got up, walked towards him, and placed a hand on his head. Closing his eyes, he felt his brother's Tarmata, it was strong and plentiful.

"You want me to tell you why you're struggling so much?"

Lysander looked up at his brother's face

"It would be helpful."

Lycurgus' smirk crept onto his face

"Your body is too weak."

Lysander made an irritated look

"Weak? I think I'm anything but weak, I helped you take down this fish remember."

Lycurgus started laughing

"Dude you're 12 get over yourself, your body still needs time to grow."

Lysander snarled "I'm 13, not 12 I'm basically a man."

Lycurgus began to laugh even louder.

"A man in a baby's body, look at you barely any muscle."

Lysander slapped his brother's hand away and tackled him, stopping Lycurgus' laughter. Lycurgus planted his back foot stopping himself from falling and grabbed Lysander's waist. With a burst of Tarmata, he threw Lysander 20 feet in the air.

Lysander was scared as he could see over the tree line after just a few moments of staring at the ground. He began to fall back down Lycurgus broke his fall by catching him in the stomach with an open palm. The force wretched Lysander's stomach making him instantly vomit. Lycurgus sneered down at his brother after he fell to his knees grabbing his stomach.

"See the difference now between a man and a boy?"

Lysander wanted to say something smart in retaliation, but he was too busy grasping for air. Lycurgus' gaze softened a bit, he had to admit Lysander's strength was more than that of the average child his age.

"Come on, let's get going Sandy."

Lysander looked up to see his brother's outstretched hand and reached for it.