Chapter 24 - Choices

Five days quickly went by. With Maikal's help and the money that Julieth and Mr Menke had given to the orphanage, they were able to buy some medicinal herbs that allowed Nerun to heal quickly and without after-effects.

Elijah decided to stay several more days at the orphanage. On the one hand to be present during Nerun's recovery. On the other hand to continue training with Maikal. He blamed himself for the damage his younger brother had suffered because he knew that if he used all his techniques, Roger would not have been able to threaten Nerun and Julieth towards the end of the fight. If Nerun did not have his secret techniques, perhaps the outcome could have been completely different, and that would have been unforgivable.

When a week passed, a special package arrived for the orphanage from Mr Menke, two special gifts for Elijah and Nerun. On the one hand, Elijah was presented with a sword made of an alloy of Darksteel and Mythril, with a beautiful handle, a slender, curved blade a metre long and an inch and a half wide. This was a powerful level 6 weapon, of extremely high cost. Elijah soon fell in love with the sword and began to train with it every day. Maikal himself guided him in his training and Elijah quickly demonstrated a certain level of proficiency.

The other gift was something that was even more valuable for its rarity, at least in Ansem's territory. It was an old scroll full of strange symbols. This scroll was precisely a low-grade Meditation Technique, named <Short Ode of the Snow Fairy>. Not to be misled by the term, low grade, even the worst of the Meditation Techniques are considered a real treasure for many clans, since through them, a person can use a special mantra to communicate with the Natural Energy of heaven and earth and cultivate Mana. Even the lowest grade technique can cost prohibitive fortunes.

Mr Menke noticed that the eye technique Nerun used was a magickal ability, something that indicated that Nerun had a high level of Mana for his young age. This could imply that Nerun was a person who had the potential to become an Adept, something quite scarce in the Kingdom of Ansem. Thinking of Nerun's future, he decided to give him his own Meditation Technique as a gift. Along with the scroll, came a letter from Menke to Maikal, explaining the principles of the theory of the use of Mana. These were secrets known only to the Academies and experts in the use of Magic. Do not take Mr Menke as weak, just because he was a level 35 Magick Scholar, in Ansem, these were markedly rare to find, and there was only one company of Adepts in the entire army, and it was considered a small elite group of no more than 1000 people under the command of Dragon General Rafal Sen Buran, the only Arch-Sage in the whole Kingdom. Considering that the entire kingdom of Ansem has over 800 million inhabitants if there are 400,000 Magick users, that would be saying a lot, less than 0.05%. And of these, most were of low rank, as in the case of Menke.

Nerun was overjoyed at the prospect of receiving this Meditation Technique and starting to increase his Mana level, so he rushed to his room to try it out. When he opened the scroll, however, he couldn't help but feel dizzy for a period of time. A wealth of information flashed before his eyes and seemed to be stored in his mind, explaining the principles of the technique. If Nerun's Mana level had not increased sufficiently, it is possible that he would have lost consciousness.

Meditation Techniques taught the steps to calm the mind and spirit, and thus to communicate with the natural world. By listening to the natural world, a person could influence the Natural Energy of Heaven and Earth and draw it into one's mind, where the Mental Palace resided. The Mental Palace was the place where Mana accumulated, and in order for a person to become an Adept it was necessary for them to use the Natural Energy to stimulate and open the Mental Palace. Menke thought that Nerun had opened his Mental Palace already, what he did not know was that Nerun had actually opened one of his Auxiliary Meridians.

Once the Mental Palace was opened, the accumulation of Mana would begin to grow until it overflowed. At that point, the next step would be to use the Mana to stimulate and open one of the 9 Heavenly or Celestial Gates. If a person were a flute and wanted to sing to the Natural World so that it would lend him its strength and energy, the first thing is to have an opening to blow through it, and that opening would be the Mental Palace. The Celestial Gates would be like the holes in the flute, allowing the Adept to exert a distinct tonality and sound and thus enlist the support of the World. The Adept would then perform an incantation, which is basically a conversation with the environment, to generate the Magickal Arts.

Each Celestial Gate communicates with one of the major elements of the Universe. The first gate is in principle the most important, because it is the one that determines the main element that the Adept will use throughout his life. There are Meditation Techniques in the world which have a higher percentage of opening a specific gate, and these are the best-kept secrets of the great magical clans of the continent, many of whom have devoted years to the study of a magical element of the world. The <Short Ode of the Snow Fairy> had a small chance of first opening the Celestial Gate of Πάγο - /Págo/, however, this chance was rather slim, and it was more likely that the first gate to open was random.

The Celestial Gates and their respective elements were:

Γη (Gi) / Μέταλλο (Métallo) ---- Earth / Metal

Αέρας (Aéras) / Ουρανός (Ouranós) ---- Air / Sky

Νερό (Neró) / πάγο (Págo) ---- Water / Ice

Πυρ (Pyr) / Αστραπή (Astrapí) ---- Fire / Lightning

Ξύλο (Xylo) / Ζωή (Zoí) ---- Wood / Life

Σκιά (Skiá) / Θάνατος (Thánatos) ---- Shadow / Death

Φως (Fos) / Διάστημα (Diástima) ---- Light / Space

Ουδέτερο (Oudétero) / Χρόνο (Chróno) ---- Neutral / Time

Κάος (Káos) ---- Chaos

Nerun was eager to begin meditation. Trying to calm his nerves, he sat down and began to breathe quietly, while trying with his mind to communicate with the Natural World. This step was probably the most difficult of all, and even geniuses on the Continent usually take anywhere from a couple of hours to a day to do it. A normal person with a mild aptitude for Magic would take up to 10 days. Nerun however, took a mere 15 minutes to communicate with the Natural World. If the Great Clans and Academies knew about this, they would probably all rush to take Nerun as a disciple.

In reality, the reason why Nerun was able to communicate with ease with the natural world was of no great mystery. Nerun had already opened one of his auxiliary meridians in his head, and it had connected with a faint outline of a Celestial Gate. So the Meridian allowed Nerun to communicate quickly with the Natural World. This is also one of the reasons why Adepts and Warriors alike do everything in their power to open the Auxiliary Meridians, as they increase the ability to absorb natural energy. Natural Energy began to circulate through the Ocular Meridian and began to stimulate a central point in Nerun's mind. This was the Mental Palace. It took Nerun a little more than an hour to open it. As soon as it was opened, a connection was created with the Ocular Meridian and the Mana began to circulate freely and accumulate little by little.

Nerun was ecstatic, but his happiness was short-lived. For as he felt the Mana increasing in his mental palace, he became aware of another phenomenon that frightened him greatly. The Qi that had accumulated in his body was slowly dissolving. Nerun, who after the battle with Roger had stabilised his Qi level at 7, began to notice that it was slowly decreasing. If Nerun continued to accumulate Mana, he was sure that his Qi level would drop to 6 in no time.

Nerun immediately stopped in a cold sweat. It didn't take him long to get up and go find Maikal. Maikal was with Elijah, training in their private field. Elijah was relentlessly practising his swordplay when he saw Nerun and stopped.

Maikal looked at Nerun and before Nerun could say anything, he commented "I knew it wouldn't take you long to open your mind palace, and start absorbing Mana, but you were even faster than I thought. There's no doubt you're a little monster."

Nerun couldn't help but smile a little sheepishly as he put his hand to his head. He then said to Maikal, "Father, I have succeeded with the Meditation Technique. However, it is of a low grade and does not allow me to accumulate large amounts of Mana."

Maikal rolled his eye a little, as he said, "You really don't think that's enough. It is possible that you can accumulate Mana one rank per year, perhaps a little faster, which would mean that you could become a Mana Adept at 10 years old. That's incredible in the Kingdom of Ansem. And you still have the gall to complain." Nerun was silent as he listened to Maikal. Maikal continued, "I don't suppose, however, that you came to me to tell me this. You must have noticed by now, no? That when you begin to accumulate Mana, your Qi begins to fade little by little. In fact, if you were to start training your Qi, you would notice that the accumulated Mana would also start to disappear. This is because the Balance of EON, the First Law of the World, does not allow you to accumulate Qi and Mana at the same time. I told you before, no one has been able to use both systems successfully on the continent.

Your case is actually exceptional. Most people don't have to choose between Qi and Mana, because they usually have a strong body preference for one system or the other. You, on the other hand, seem to have an excellent aptitude for both Qi and Mana. You are not unique, but it is indeed not common for someone to be able to choose between one system or the other. Therefore, you must understand that you have to make a choice. Possibly the most important one that will dictate the path of your future life. You must choose between the way of the Warrior or the way of the Adept."

Elijah said nothing as he looked at Nerun. Elijah was happy for his brother's great aptitude, but he knew that this was a choice he would have to make sooner or later. The only thing is that the choice for Nerun came rather early. Nerun was about to turn six, and being such a child, a choice of this calibre could be quite difficult to make.

Maikal couldn't help but sigh "The truth is that I wanted you to become a Warrior originally, but it is true that your Mana aptitude is also incredible. Little Menke saw that, and that's why he sent you the meditation technique. In fact, in his letter he told me it was necessary for a true expert in the Use of Mana to appear in the Kingdom, and that is why Ansem is doing everything in his power to instruct and train Adepts, using many of the Kingdom's resources to support them. You may have a more promising future as an Adept than as a Warrior in Ansem."

Nerun couldn't help but say, "But Father, can't I really continue with both? I love training with my brothers and the technique you taught me is a Qi technique after all."

"The technique I taught you is actually a technique to move the Natural Energy of Heaven and Earth. It wouldn't be impossible that it could become a Mana technique if you were talented enough. In fact, you surprised me greatly when you used Qi Revolution. That technique is an inheritance left by the First Ancestor of my family. Actually, it is part of a Martial Art that he developed and later helped pave the way for the foundation of the kingdom of Ansem. This Martial Art has been passed down in my family for generations, but the truth is that apart from the First Ancestor, no one else was able to use it properly again. The Martial Art I taught your big brother is my own technique, developed from my experiences and travels. When I saw that you used the Qi Revolution, I thought I would teach you this Martial Art from my family. Perhaps you can make use of it and make it grand again. This martial art is based on the balance and equilibrium of the world."

Nerun got excited while hearing Maikal's words. Though he realized immediately that if he were to learn this Martial Art, then he would have to renounce using Mana altogether. He really could not make up his mind about this major issue.

Elijah, seeing his brother's frustration, couldn't help but say, "Don't worry so much, Nerun. I know it's a difficult decision, but it doesn't mean you have to make it right now. I'll tell you what. Learn the Martial Art that Father wants to teach you. Also, learn how to use Mana and slowly experiment with both. Your own body will tell you which one it feels more comfortable with, and you can make the decision yourself then."

"Your brother is right. Come then. The movements and steps I am going to teach you are secret, and I hope you will keep them to yourself always. Learn in earnest what I am about to teach you. This Ancient Martial Art is known as the Free Flowing Fist."