CH 10 - ATLA 9 - Piandao

(Word Count: 3,717)

A few days have passed since my meeting with Iroh, with a heavy heart I had to say goodbye to Book. The ostrich-horse would just bring too much attention in the fire nation. The species were known to be favored among the Earth Nation army. 

Without Book to help carry more packs, I had to really trim down on how much gear I was carrying. I had to focus on the absolute necessities. I still ended up having to carry a large backpack on my back and a bag at my side to get everything packed.

These past few days were spent aboard a merchant ship to the Fire Nation. I had nothing to do as a passenger, so I spent the time looking over the firebending scrolls Iroh gave me. My goal was to try and take any inspiration I could to advance my earthbending. If iroh could do it for his own firebending, I could do it for my earthbending. 

Not that I could try anything heading to the Fire Nation. There was no need to stupidly risk everything due to impatience.

What I did try was some of the moves shown in the scrolls. I couldn't actually firebend, but I knew that the bending forms were based on martial arts. I knew I could get a new martial arts skill, which I did 2 days into the journey.

[Northern Shaolin LVL 1/100]

A martial arts style that forms the basis for Firebending styles. Focuses on quick aggressive attacks.

Increases damage dealt in unarmed combat by 2%/LVL.

I didn't have much insight on how to use this to aid in my earthbending, and it was hard to practice this new skill in my room, so I had focused my time on Drawing, Sewing and Meditation when I was in my room. I even hid in random spots around the ship to try and raise my Hide skill.

[Sewing LVL 36 => 40/100]

[Hide LVL 58 => 60/100]

[Drawing LVL 63 => 64/100]

[Seismic Sense LVL 50 => 52/100]

Seismic Sense really wasn't getting much use when I rode Book everywhere, so I thought it would be interesting to try and use it on a metal ship. The metal seemed to carry vibrations easily, making the image much clearer. There were also the Chi skills I could safely practice without giving everything away. 

[Chi Sensing LVL 62 => 63/100]

[Chi Enhancement LVL 40 => 41/100]

[Chi Enhanced Senses LVL 31 => 35/100]

Other than my need for increasing my skill levels, the voyage was rather boring. There were no pirates or sea monsters or anything. There was a Fire Nation ship that passed by us, but we were on a merchant vessel from the colonies, so there was no issue.

Luckily, this ship took me directly to the island Piandao lived on, and I was able to get there the very next day.

As I walked up to the man's estate, I couldn't help but marvel at the giant castle. White bricks with a deep red and gold roof. It was beautiful. It was also a much larger castle than I remember it being. Was it even a castle? I could have sworn it was a manor. Now that I think about it. Piandao had his own walking trail through a bamboo forest, courtyard, smithing area, and a zen garden. The man was incredibly rich. I gulped. This was it. Would he even take me in as his student?

Only one way to find out. I reach the giant red door and use the golden dragon door knockers to knock firmly 3 times. Then wait.

After a moment, the large doors opened and there was the butler, Fat. Fat was an interesting choice for a name, but I won't judge. It obviously wasn't an English name, so I couldn't associate the English word with it.

"Can I help you?" Fat asked. He sounded slightly annoyed. Buddy, I haven't even done anything yet.

"I've come to seek training under the master." I replied. It only seemed to worsen the man's mood. He almost rolled his eyes at me.

"Right. You should know that the Master turns almost everyone away. What did you bring to prove your worth?" Fat asked, holding out a hand expectantly.

"Please give this to the master." And I handed him a small cloth bag that had Iroh's white lotus tile. 

He looked down at the small bag and sighed. "Right, let's get this over with. Follow me please."

As Fat led the way, I couldn't help but look around. Walking through the door revealed an extensive courtyard, the castle looming over us. It was majestic. Though, it seemed as if Fat was the only servant here. How did he manage to take care of the entire castle? 

We entered into a large chamber that was opened on one side with large windows, showing a beautiful view of the valley behind them. Piandao was there, practicing calligraphy at a small desk on the ground. He was facing the windows, contemplating the view as he practiced. 

Piandao was a dark skinned man, and he had a poised vibe about him. He sat straight and every move seemed to be precise and calculated. This was a man with years of martial training. His sword was resting on the floor at his side, easily within reach.

Fat motioned for me to stay where I was, and he approached Piandao. He whispered something into his ear and gave him the cloth bag. Piandao didn't look back towards me, but opened the bag, revealing the white lotus tile.

There wasn't any noticeable reaction that I could see from where I stood, but he finally spoke.

"So, you wish to train in the art of the sword. Let me guess, you've gained some skill as a mercenary and now think you deserve this chance?"

"Well, you could say I'm self taught, but I wouldn't really say that I'm a skilled swordsman. I've only been practicing for a little more than a month. As for whether I'm worthy of this chance, I can only leave it up to you."

"You are a fully grown man, and yet you've only now chosen to pick up the sword? Why?"

"Where I grew up, the war was a distant thing, not something that I had to worry about. Now it threatens my home. So I came to seek teachings from the best."

"I am a man of the Fire Nation, and you come to me? Here, in the lands of the enemy?" Piandao asked, amused.

He must have assumed I was from the Earth Kingdom.

"I believe there are good and bad people in every nation. To reject wise advice just because of its source would be foolish," I responded.

Piandao turned around and regarded me with a stern expression before he smiled slightly in satisfaction. "Very well, I will train you. But before that, tell me, what do you know of this white lotus piece, and where did you get it?"

I let go of the breath I didn't know I was holding in relief. "I got the piece from Iroh. I met him and the prince in my travels and I told him of my desire to come here to learn. I know that the White Lotus is a group of masters from all nations that seek to share knowledge, maintain balance, and help the avatar. But that's all, I haven't joined yet."

"I see. Let us begin your training by determining how skilled you are already," Piandao said, taking up his sword.

All three of us went to the courtyard out back. Fat waiting up on the patio while Piandao and I went out to the open ground.

Piandao drew his sword, and threw his scabbard to Fat, who caught it seamlessly. "Now, let us see how skilled you are!" Piandao said, rushing smoothly forward.

I didn't stay still and tried utilizing the style I had been working on the past few weeks. I deflect his blade as best I could and dart to the side. His blade follows, forcing me to retreat.

As we continue fighting, one thing becomes obvious. I am far stronger and faster than him, yet somehow, his blade is always there intercepting any strike I use. Through sheer skill, Piandao is forcing me back step by step.

None of the fancy footwork of Baguazhang seems to work, I can't get around him. But it is probably the only reason I haven't lost yet. Eventually, Piandao has had enough of testing me, and pulls back. Neither of us are breathing heavy, as he is a master, and I literally have twice the endurance of a peak human. Stats are crazy like that.

Fat threw the scabbard back, and Piandao sheathed his sword to catch it like a boss.

"You are very strong, stronger than anyone else I've faced. But it's obvious you are self taught. Where did you learn the ways of the Air Nomads?" Piandao asked.

"I visited the Eastern Air Temple, and there was an old guru that lived with them before the genocide. He taught me these forms and how to meditate." There wasn't any reason for me to lie about it, so I told him plainly.

Piandao nodded approvingly. "Good, it seems you were productive on your travels. For your training with me, I will teach you some proper forms. Luckily you hold the sword properly, but you lack any formal style. I believe the two handed Hsu Jian blade would suit you best. This way you can properly leverage your strength and size to attack viciously. With your Air Nomad forms, you already have the mobility for defense. For a man of your size and apparent strength, I believe you can even wield it one handed if you wished."

Up until now, I had been using the one handed Jian, but I nodded along anyway. He was the master after all. Besides, like he said, I have a lot more strength than any normal man, it would be foolish to not utilize all of it. The larger Hsu Jian would suit me perfectly.

"We will also be focusing on the mindset of a swordsman. Learning the way of the sword is about much more than swinging around sharp metal. It's a way of life and learning to make the sword an extension of one's own body. We will be developing your calligraphy and spatial awareness as well," Piandao continued.

"Erm, Master Piandao, this is embarrassing to say… but I don't know how to read and write." Piandao didn't seem to be too bothered with that. The literacy rates weren't exactly the greatest after all. If I had to guess, it was around 10% that were literate.

"That's fine, Callan. Then we will use this chance to teach you the basics of writing then."

~ CatAR ~

Over the course of the next week, my days were packed full. Piandao and Fat kept me busy. He had loaned me a two handed Hsu Jian to train with, though he said that at the end of his training I would be making my own. Which was fine with me, because of the Blacksmithing skill perk, any sword I make would be boosted.

I spent most mornings drilling proper sword techniques with Piandao and sparring with Fat. Through the guidance of a master, my Sword Handling, Parry, Counter, and Dodge skills all shot up to 100 in just 4 days, the quickest progress I had in any of my skills. It just goes to show just how valuable a proper teacher can do for you. 

And yet, even with the skill maxed out, it seemed like my swordsmanship was improving day by day. It seems like the system skill wasn't a true reflection of my actual skill, but a tracker of the system's perks. When I get back to the Akashic Library I will need to get the Skill Upgrade modules, I already had way too many basic skills maxed out.

After only 3 days, I managed to defeat Fat in our spars. He was still better at technique, but he could no longer keep up with my strength. I didn't get any EXP from just sparring before, but when I managed to defeat him, I gained 300 EXP. Which shows that Fat was much better than the bandits. After that I never received any EXP from defeating Fat again, so I couldn't try and farm it.

After I managed to defeat Fat, Piandao began to teach me about the composition of different weapons and armor, and how to best strike to break them. This earned me the skill Sunder, which increased my damage when striking at weapons and armor. Normally this type of move would require a special catch on your blade that would capture your enemy's blade or a lot of strength. Luckily I had strength in spades. 

When I wasn't learning sword techniques, I was busy memorizing different Chinese characters to write. And writing I did. Copying down different characters hundreds of times.

Piandao also had me paint different scenery from memory, I even got the same line Sokka did. Swordsmen need to be able to take in the entire battlefield at once to make quick decisions. 

I had very little time to train any of my personal skills, but the time I did have I preferred to rest and recover. The only exception was my Seismic Sense because it was mostly passive. I may have had double the stamina of marathoners but only training 24/7 was no way to live. Instead I spent my rest time either drawing, painting, trying to read scrolls from Piandao's library, playing pai sho, or maintaining and cleaning my equipment.

Sometime during my time training, I did end up telling Piandao about being from another world, and my journey so far: learning blacksmithing, my time with Pathik, the Lion Turtle, and Iroh. I also explained my future goals: like saving the moon spirit, and finding the hidden library of Wan Shi Tong. It just didn't seem right to hide anything from my sword master.

After two weeks, my training was over. I still wasn't able to defeat Piandao. Even having more than twice his strength, his mastery over the sword seemed invincible. Though there were moments where the man seemed to move too fast to be natural. He was definitely using Chi Enhancement, though I don't know if it was a conscious action. Or maybe it was, and Piandao only used it in critical moments to conserve his Chi? Either way, it only made my respect for him grow. When I saw this, I sought to emulate how he used Chi Enhancement, saving my Chi for critical moments.

Looking over my status screen, I sighed. I was getting so many skills the list was getting ridiculous. I needed some sort of UI editing or organizer.

STATUS SCREEN

NAME: Callan Stone

TIER: 1

GLOBAL LEVEL: 7 4,148/4,642 Exp

CLASS: Street Rat 7/10 4,148/4,642 Exp

STATS:

Str: 20

End: 22

Dex: 23

Int: 10

Wis: 21

Cha: 12

Free Stats: 0

SKILLS:

Skill Points: 0

[Deception LVL 100/100]

[Forestry LVL 100/100]

[Axe Handling LVL 100/100]

[Wood Chopping LVL 100/100]

[Persuasion LVL 100/100]

[Hammer Handling LVL 100/100]

[Blacksmithing LVL 100/100]

[Sword Handling LVL 35 => 100/100]

[Knife Handling LVL 35 => 57/100]

[Sewing LVL 40/100]

[Cooking LVL 100/100]

[Leatherworking LVL 23/100]

[Running LVL 100/100]

[Sprinting LVL 100/100]

[Jumping LVL 100/100]

[Leap LVL 52/100]

[Acrobatics LVL 100/100]

[Sneak LVL 100/100]

[Muted Steps LVL 100/100]

[Hide LVL 60/100]

[Meditation LVL 100/100]

[Archery LVL 50/100]

[Carpentry LVL 100/100]

[Sailing LVL 68/100]

[Baguazhang LVL 100/100]

[Chi Manipulation LVL 81/100]

[Chi Sensing LVL 63 => 65/100]

[Low Cosmic Connection LVL 14/100]

[Horse Riding LVL 52/100]

[Fishing LVL 100/100]

[Wood Carving LVL 100/100]

[Swimming LVL 70/100]

[Drawing LVL 64 => 80/100]

[Haggling LVL 25/100]

[Chi Enhancement LVL 41/100]

[Parry LVL 10 => 100/100]

[Dodge LVL 14 => 60/100]

[Counter LVL 1 => 75/100]

[First Aid LVL 5/100]

[Intimidation LVL 1 => 5/100]

[Earthbending LVL 70/100]

[Seismic Sense LVL 50 => 73/100]

[Earth Softened Steps LVL 40 => 43/100]

[Chi Enhanced Senses LVL 35/100]

[Northern Shaolin LVL 1 => 4/100]

[Language(Hanzi) LVL 38/100] *NEW*

[Calligraphy LVL 25/100] *NEW*

[Situational Awareness LVL 42/100] *NEW*

[Painting LVL 32/100] *NEW*

[Sunder LVL 43/100] *NEW*

WP: 1,600 => 1,800

[Language(Hanzi) LVL 1/100]

Hanzi is the name for the Chinese Characters writing system. This skill represents how proficient you are in this written language.

+1%/LVL reading and writing speed in Hanzi.

[Calligraphy LVL 1/100]

The art of writing beautifully to convey meanings.

+2%/LVL in quality of your calligraphy.

[Situational Awareness LVL 1/100]

More easily recall details and people around you, where they are, what they're doing, etc.

+1%/LVL to memory and attention to details around you.

[Painting LVL 1/100]

Increases the quality of your paintings by 2%/LVL

[Sunder LVL 1/100]

Increases damage to armor and weapons by 2%/LVL

Getting the Situational Awareness skill made me realize that I never got any sort of mental skill before, if you don't count meditation. I could think of a lot of mental skills I could try to get, like Parallel Thought, or Focus, or Accelerated Thinking. Stuff like that. It didn't really seem too important right now, but definitely something to look into later.

Piandao stood in front of him, looking pleased. "Callan when you first arrived you were like a bull, wielding strength alone. Now, you fight like a dragon. I'm proud to have taught you. Now, there is one last task. To become truly one with your blade, you must craft it yourself. Here in front of you lies several different ore. Pick the one that feels best to you."

Over the course of my travels I had become very familiar with the process of smelting ore and smithing. On the table were several large chunks, each should contain enough Iron to make my new Hsu Jian. But I wanted a more spiritual connection to my blade, to become one with it. I reach out with my Chi Sense. Chi acted as a lifeforce for all living things, everyone had some. But it was also a spiritual energy, touching upon things like karmic connections and foretelling. Luckily for me, I had my Low Cosmic Connection which allowed me to do the same. With this, I was able to use Chi Sense to see connections to items as well.

I picked the ore on the far right, the one with the strongest connection.

Using that, I quickly set to work about the forge. In the smelting process, I needed to make sure I got enough carbon in it to make high-carbon steel. I folded it several times to evenly distribute the carbon throughout. Then I took a part of it to mix another ingot of steel-nickel alloy. The nickel I used, I made sure to grab the nickel ingot that also had a good connection with me. I took my time with each step. I wanted this sword to be my masterpiece. After a full day in the forge, I had a rather large damascus steel billet ready to be used.

Once I got working on drawing it all out, it was like I was in a trance. It was almost a spiritual experience the way I was so hyper focused on getting everything right. I didn't notice as the time passed by, or Piandao and Fat as they came in from time to time to check on me.

3 days later, early in the morning on the fourth day, I had a naked blade about 5ft long in total. Around 1.52 meters. About 1.21ft, 0.37m, was the tang to use as a handle, the other 3.79ft, 1.15m, was the actual blade. It was made a bit thicker than it normally would be even for a sword this size, making it close to 3 times heavier than normal, around 9-10 lbs, but it played perfectly into my enhanced strength.

I held it in my hands and I knew that I had succeeded in making the sword I wanted. The ores I used already had a good connection with me, but the hours of effort I put into shaping the blade deepened it, making the sword seem like an extension of myself.

Piandao came in. "Go and get some rest, Callan. I will place the finishing touches on it, and mark it as yours."

~ CatAR ~

Later that afternoon, I finished dressing myself after a long bath and went to greet Master Piandao.

I found him and Fat eating lunch.

"Good afternoon, Master, Fat. How did my sword turn out?"

"You did an excellent job making your sword, Callan. It turned out beautifully." From underneath the table at his side, Piandao pulled out a long case. "See for yourself."

I opened the case and marveled at the beautiful maroon sheath, and the etched bronze hand guard and pommel. Attached to the pommel was a beautiful red tassel. I picked it up and unsheathed it, revealing a polished sharp blade with beautiful rippling patterns. There wasn't any fancy gold or dragon decals on it like you see in anime, but there was beauty in its simplicity. Well, the damascus patterns were fancy enough by itself and the simplicity of the rest of the sword accentuated the blade even more. It was perfectly made and tailored for me.

Etched into the front spacer of the handle, just below the hand guard, I saw that instead of Piandao's maker's mark were Hanzi characters that could be interpreted in two ways. One was "Strength from the Earth," perfect since I was an Earthbender. The other interpretation was "Strength within Stone," the stone part in this case referred to my name, meaning finding my inner strength.

I traced the etching, feeling touched. "Thank you, master."