Ether and Source

Sitting in a traditional human bathtub, Amon enjoyed a hot, scented bath as an esteemed guest of Yao Gui. The man was quite persistent and managed to persuade Amon to stay as his family's guest. He was both a grateful father and a man who hated owing anyone anything, no matter how insignificant.

On the way to Yao Gui's mansion, Amon learned Gui was a widower and a successful merchant. A father of three girls, and an influential member of the Yao clan within Lilium city.

Standing up, Amon stepped out of the bathtub and dried himself with a towel. Picking up a different towel, he wrapped it around his lower half and exited the bath area.

"Young master, please have a seat." Said Yao Gui's butler, Yao Chang, who has been assigned to Amon and was waiting for him in the small courtyard outside the guests' bathing area.

Amon walked over and sat down on the wooden chair next to Yao Chang.

"How would you like me to cut your hair, young master?" Said Chang.

"Please stop with the 'young master' and 'young hero'; it is irritating. Call me by the name my mother gave me. As for my hair, cut it short, all the way to the back of my neck, please." Said Amon.

"I can't do that. 'Young master' is the least I could address you by." Chang bowed slightly then continued speaking. "You do have beautiful hair, other young men in our clan would kill to have long silk-like hair as good as yours, are you sure you want me to cut it that short?"

"Yes, I would have asked you to grow me a beard too if you had the power to do so. Out of curiosity, how old do I appear to you?"

Chang put a hand under his chin, scrutinizing Amon's face, and body build. "Sixteen, seventeen at most. Did I get it right, young master?"

Amon shrugged, his current body was born earlier today, making him a few hours old. He was not even sure what race he is supposed to be as he is no longer a Phoenix, nor is he a human, only his outer form was that of a human.

Chang cut Amon's hair quickly in practiced ease, leaving him with a well-groomed uniform hair that extended to the back of his neck.

"Thank you. I will skip dinner tonight, and I would like not to be disturbed for the rest of the evening. By any chance, have you prepared a body size mirror in my room?" Said Amon.

"Yes, this is a house of young misses, mirrors of all sizes and shapes were already available. I had the biggest one delivered to your assigned room." Said Chang while bowing to Amon in goodbye.

Amon walked towards his room within the guest wing, assigned solely to him. Yao Gui was indeed a gracious host.

The moment Amon entered his room wearing nothing but his towel, he was greeted by the muffled cries of a little girl. It is perhaps the one thing he could not stand, as it was like needles puncturing his heart, reminding him of Zexian.

Looking around the room, he found Ling whimpering, sitting in a corner, hugging her legs in a fetal position. Sighing, Amon walked towards the sizeable tall mirror that was prepared for him.

Amon dropped his towel and examined his face and body. He looked similar to how he used to look like, as a Phoenix in his humanoid form. Just as tall, too, at six feet and one inch. There were minor differences. His face appeared to be a bit more delicate and a bit softer, which Amon did not like one bit. The other difference is his head hair. It used to be split right in the middle of his scalp and a bit wavy. Now it was one lush blend, denser, and as smooth as silk.

"I need a beard...I can stomach my face for a month at most without one. Otherwise, I'm going to town on my face with a sharp blade; you hear me, you inert, senseless heart?" Amon changed his focus to the reason he asked for a large mirror, his body.

Amon's body was built better than he had developed for himself over the years training in his father's, and clan Ethereal Arts. Every muscle in his body was lean and well defined, sculpted to absolute perfection as if he had trained each muscle individually for many years.

The state of his body did not register in Amon's mind. He was exclusively focused on the many Runes and Arrays that covered his entire body, including his manhood.

"You are a big pervert, or you love your tattoos too much." Commented Ling from her corner, covering her reddened face with her hands but kept enough space between her fingers to peek.

"They are not tattoos. They are Arrays and Runes." Said Amon.

"What's that? Arrays and Runes?" Said Ling.

Amon picked his towel and covered his lower half. He turned around to look at Ling. He noticed a small handprint on her right cheek. "What are you doing here? Should you not be in bed instead of loitering around in a man's room? You are young and don't count as a proper woman yet, but you should not be here anyway."

Ling blew a raspberry at Amon.

Pressing his nose bridge, Amon sighed in defeat. "Bring a chair and sit down, since you are already here and not leaving, I have a use for you."

"What do you want me to do?"

"I talk, you listen and ask questions now and then." Said Amon hoping a child's curiosity will give him an unconventional perspective.

Ling dragged a chair from Amon's dining table and sat down.

"You asked about Runes and Arrays, but first, what do you know about the Ether and Source?" Said Amon.

The little girl tilted her head cutely. "Ether and Source? I never heard of them before."

Amon dramatically inhaled air then exhaled it out loudly. "What did I do? I inhaled invisible air into my lungs, my body, and exhaled it out. Air is everywhere around us, you can't see it, and you can only feel it when there is wind.

The Ether is similar to air. It is invisible and everywhere around us in varying quality and quantity. The main difference is that we don't need Ether to live like air, nor can we inhale it in our body. In fact, we cannot interact with Ether at all. We only know it is there because some of us can sense it."

Ling clapped her hands! "Ah! You are talking about the energy between heaven and earth that cultivators can sense."

Amon frowned. "Cultivators?"

Ling nodded. "They are powerful masters, they can fly, live a long life and they can do many wondrous things. My sister is a cultivator; she is so amazing."

'Eh? Do they call Source users cultivators on this planet? The stupid heart better not have taken me to a parallel universe where humans speak the same universal language my Ring Galaxy used.' "Have you watched your sister... Umm... 'cultivate' before?" Said Amon.

Ling nodded and jumped off her chair, imitating her sister's dance and cultivating method. "She dances like this while wearing pretty gems and crystals."

Amon heaved a sigh of relief. It appears to be a matter of different naming schemes, rather than a different world.

"Alright, let me correct you on a few matters. You said the energy between heaven and earth. That's an old conviction that has been proven to be wrong a long time ago. The Ether is everywhere, not just between heaven and earth but also above them and below them. It is incredibly abundant, even in outer space, in varying degrees of quantity and quality.

Unfortunately, that's as far as our knowledge goes about the Ether. We can't see it, interact with it, command it, touch it, or use it in any way, just selected few can feel it, the ones you call cultivators, and that's about it." Said Amon.

Ling sat on her chair. "It sounds pretty useless then, no?"

Amon shook his head. "I only said WE couldn't interact with it. However, the Ether itself can interact, touch, and attach itself to anything it fancies. We don't understand how and why, or even have any clue about the laws and rules that govern the Ether's behavior.

Here is what we do know. When the Ether touches a living being within their mother's womb, they become Ether sensitive creatures, cultivators, if you want to call them that. It is what allows them to interact with the other side of the Ether, what we call Source energy."

Ling tightened her hold on her dress. Jealousy and sadness filled her heart, more than anything in the world she wanted to be like her sisters so they won't leave her behind all alone.

"You are lying." Said Ling.

Amon crossed his arms, waiting for Ling to elaborate.

"I can feel it...I have always been able to sense it, but I can't cultivate, no matter how hard I tried, the energy of heaven and earth within the pretty gems never filled my veins."

'How curious.' "I see, I'm sorry to hear that. Nevertheless, I did not lie. No one could interact with Source energy unless Ether touched them before they inhaled their first breath." Said Amon.

Ling raised her head and looked at Amon. "What is Source energy?"

Smiling faintly, Amon explained. "Source energy is Ether with shifted properties. Recall when I said that Ether could attach itself to anything in existence? When it does, the attached Ether becomes Source energy, which can be fully absorbed, interacted with, and commanded by 'cultivators.'

You said your sister cultivated by dancing while wearing gems and crystals. These gems and crystals are Source charged. Your sister is pushing Source out of them and absorbing them into her body through her dance moves, filling her Ethereal Veins with Source."

Ling nodded in understanding. "Then what does all of this have to do with your tattoos?"

Amon flicked Ling's forehead gently. "Runes and Arrays. They are two different, highly respected Source users' professions. You would call them cultivators' professions, I believe, here in your country. I'm used to the term Source users or more commonly Sorcerers, but we will stick with cultivators for now.

Runes are the Source alphabet and language, incredibly complex, challenging to learn, and nearly impossible to master. Here, take a look at the back of my hands; there is a Rune on each."

Ling observed the symbols on Amon's hands, amazed by how beautiful they appeared. "If Runes are a written language? What do those two symbols mean? They look very similar too."

Amon pressed his lips; he was at a loss himself. He gained the title sage because of his high attainment in both Runes and Arrays and joined the few living Primordial sages. However, he had never seen anything like the Runes on his body.

"I do not know. All I can glean so far is that both Runes on the back of my hands are the same word written in reverse of each other." Said Amon.

Ling touched the Rune on Amon's right hands. "I think I understand now. The circles around the Runes and the lines across your arm are the Arrays." Following the lines with her eyes. "All the Arrays lead to...your chest...Your heart."

"You are correct. Arrays are drawn channels for Source to travel from one point to another. When paired with Runes, Arrays function as the Source channels between different Runes, and the crystal or gem that power the Runes with Source energy. While both Runes and Arrays are two different cultivators' professions, they pair together exceptionally well, which is why usually an artisan of one is also an artisan of the other." Said Amon.

Ling adorably smiled. "I bet my sister does not know any of this. Thank you very much, big brother." Ling jumped from her chair and hugged Amon.

"Alright, it is getting late. You better head back to your room before you give your father a heart attack. Before you leave, tell me, are there any Runes on my back?" Said Amon while showing his exposed back to Ling.

"Yes! There is a big one on your back," exclaimed Ling.