Updated 9/25/2013

Chapter Two: Shiny New Toys

My time at Sakyo's proved to be more enlightening for my research than anything I'd found in over a decade. I had to stay at his private compound while I was training, but he gave me full run of his library and as soon as I laid eyes on The Journal I felt like crying a little. It was more than I'd ever expected or hoped for and I just didn't know what to think. I was finally going to make some progress.

Sakyo had given me a room with an attached suite and was showing me to the library. I really didn't need to know anything else about the place because I was here on a mission and I wanted to throw all my focus into my task. As we walked through those big wooden doors, my eyes were instantly drawn to a glass display off to the right. I could feel vibrations calling me. It was a new experience with my other sight.

He must have noticed where my blanketed gaze was drawn. I heard the amusement in his voice, the kind I couldn't identify as real or false, and spoke, "It must be calling to your blood." He lead me over to the case and I saw it there, sitting closed on a stand. "Most of the pages within are blank, but the diary had a lot of information about humans, demons, and spirits. If nothing else, it makes for a good read," he said as he pulled out a set of keys and unlocked the case.

Now, let me start by saying that because of the nature of my curse, my sight is basically filtered through some pretty old school spells laid into the bandages. I don't "see" things really, but sense them, although the picture comes in quite clear in my mind. I can't perceive dead color or anything that shows up on a digital screen. What I mean by that is that energy has colors, sometimes colors that stain the physical being, but objects without energy have no color to me, they're black and white with gray. So people have color, their clothes do not. I can see the color of the electrical system in a house, but not the paint on the walls. This book was made of gemstones that sparkled and glistened with colors like a radiant prism. It was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. I know I stared at it in awe before Sakyo opened the case and handed it to me like it was little more than a trinket.

I just kept staring at it with reverence. I couldn't bring myself to even open it until much later after I had retired to my room and just sat it in the middle of my bed. I finally had Muchiko Takanobu's journal, her freaking spell book! I was the closest I'd ever come to my goal and all I could do was lie on my bed and look at it in wonder. If the incredible light and energy coming from this book were any indication it was a relic of true power. The front and back cover were made of what appeared to be garnet. Smaller rubies and fire opals decorated the edges in ornate designs. The spine was hard to place, at first, but then I realized it was made out of carved bone that was stained an odd mixture of deep red and black. There was a crimson silk ribbon with the strangest looking feather attached as a bookmark. It was black, with blue, green, red, and white patterned in a riot of color that didn't seem natural. On the front was a smooth, carved out hand print and on the back a sigil like crest I didn't recognize. Sakyo had said that they represented the Four Heavenly Kings, but I didn't know who they were and at the time I was too in awe of the pretty thing to ask.

The shock hadn't really worn off when my fingers reached forward of their own accord and stroked the gemstones fondly. I could feel different sorts of power emanating from them. Each swipe with the pads of my fingers brought new information I couldn't really get a read on. Sensing it was the extent of my abilities. It was strange, it seemed...pleased. Its hard to tell, as it's own living energy was vastly different than that of a human's so I don't know if it really relates the same, but it was like a magical purr under my touch. I could sense that it wanted something from me.

Without even really thinking, I placed my hand into the hollowed out space. It was much smaller than my hand, but with a flash of crackling power, the indention grew to fit my palm. I didn't even have time to think about that before the cover flung itself opened and showed a smooth blank sheet of parchment. Spidery red ink began to appear on the page as if pulled up from the depths of the parchment itself. It glowed with power as if made perfectly for me to read through the bandages. At first the crimson lines showed Japanese characters I wasn't familiar with, but then, I felt something warm buzz out from the book and settle in my head. When I opened my eyes, I understood the characters, but I was unable to tell if they'd morphed to English or if I could now read Japanese. The knowledge seemed more like it imprinted in my brain as I scanned through it.

Welcome child. I am the Source Book and you may call me Takara. If you seek answers, your limits, and ways to move beyond them, you must follow the instructions carefully. Held within is the living history of the Scarred and her descendants Not all answers will be available to you. Some problems should not be puzzled out by those too weak to handle the truth. I belong to you now, Sarai Mayfield. As you read this, the pages will rearrange themselves to your current skill levels. The stronger you get the more secrets I can reveal. Master the content of my pages, treat me with respect, and I will serve you well. Take this task lightly or abuse my power and I will take it away.

Table of Contents:

Takara's General Information & Warnings

Important Historical Events

The Creature Compendium

The Artifacts of the Scarred

Training Exercises

Beginner Spell Theory

In the following months, I read Takara cover to cover three times. It was difficult because there was always new information each time I opened it and when I did finish the first time and opened it again later, there were more undiscovered pages I'd never seen before. It was as exacting as it was exhilarating. Takara would quiz me occasionally as I read. It was something that happened subconsciously, I could feel the book in my brain and when she felt like I was ready for more, she provided it. Between reading and the training exercises, I felt like my brain had expanded into a whole different dimension of possibilities.

I was learning histories, magical properties and theories that opened up all sorts of interesting thoughts, but in a physical sense didn't mean much. It was like learning to balance equations, only the equations were spells. Three weeks of nothing but reading and practicing the single training exercise got me frustrated. I wanted to learn something useful, and all Takara was showing me was how to breath deeply and empty my mind, which was impossible!

I got frustrated and threw my arms up one day, glaring at the book. "What the hell, Takara! Why am I relearning how to breathe? What is so special about not thinking? Society thinks far too little as it is!" I hadn't really expected an answer, but Takara gave me one, nonetheless.

If you can not reach a fugue state you will never control the wellspring of your own power. It is the basic building block upon which all other techniques are rooted. You must clear your head so that you can access the forgotten parts of your mind and learn the secrets that are already there. To do this, you must focus on your breathing pattern so that your body does not forget and you must also clear your mind of the mundane clutter you've got crammed in there.

Try holding me while you practice and I will help you learn the feeling. Remember it well child, this is something I won't hold your hand on forever.

I didn't move for several seconds while I pondered the fact that I could actually ask Takara questions directly. Then I did as she said and low and behold, I reached fugue state for the first time. She pulled me out of it after ten minutes and then asked me to try again without her help. Once an hour, she'd help me find it again for ten minutes before having me continue on my own.

It took another three days of this before everything clicked into place and I got there. I hadn't even really done anything, just accessed my own soul, but it was the biggest feeling of accomplishment I'd ever had. I was pleased to see that Takara had updated the training exercises section, adding another three, and there was a whole new section called Basic Spell Set, which had a single section on barriers.

Sakyo visited occasionally over the next few months, but I was mostly left to obsessively pour over Takara's wealth of information alone. When he did visit he would pour us drinks and ask me questions about what I was learning. I answered some eagerly and others vaguely. One of the first things Takara had taught me was that anyone else who looked at the book saw the mundane diary entries of Muchiko Takanobu. That's why most of the pages had appeared blank to Sakyo. Takara reacted to the latent power in my blood, but she was also sentient and allowed one to view her secrets by her own set of standards. I knew there were some secrets I was supposed to keep, while others were fine to divulge. It was like I had some unseen connection to the book.

When I had my first big break through and was able to cast a barrier that shimmered in prismatic hues I could barely contain my excitement long enough to show him. If I didn't have much to relay, he just chatted with me about the things going on in the world and encouraged me to keep learning so that I could become a profitable healer soon.

Now, I don't want to make this sound as if I was just going along with Takara and Sakyo like some sort of trained pet. My main goal was still breaking this damn curse and no matter how much I'd read, I couldn't find a single thing talking about the actual nature of the curse. There wasn't a single reference so far to the binding or how to undo it. I kept learning because it was exciting, but each time I turned a page and it didn't give me the answer I was truly looking for, I did my best to finish and move onto the one after for a fresh chance.

After a time, it occurred to me that I should probably just ask Takara and see what she had to say on the matter. Her answer left me somewhat confused. She didn't know what I was talking about and I told her to search my memories for the meaning. I could feel her shock radiate through my mind as she pulled from my personal memories and thoughts, along with the things I'd learned from my Grandmother.

That is a part of who you are. It would be like removing the freckles from your face. I will not help you change it just because you're projecting your own feelings onto a powerful tool that should be used to help you. If you want to learn more about the secrets of the Scarred Mother, you must go further in your training.

"But Takara, I do not want this...tool."

...

I will not aid you in this quest, but if you really feel insistent, find a powerful psychic and see what they can illuminate for you. Be warned, though, with time comes understanding. Do not make rash decisions that will unravel your work. Do not strip away a piece of yourself only to find you never understood it in the first place and then regret the loss for the rest of your life.

"Thank you, Takara. I will keep your counsel in mind."

I did remember Takara's words. I puzzled over and dissected them and compared them to what I knew about the binding. It was all watered down information, colored slightly from generation to generation. In the end, I decided to meet with a powerful psychic and see what they had to say.

After that I could take some time off, maybe compare notes with Takara, and then decide on a course of action from there. The very next time Sakyo came for a visit I told him I needed to find a powerful psychic to help with the next stage of my training. It wasn't exactly a lie because I really did need to know more about the nature of my curse before I could focus on the next leg of my journey and if Takara wasn't willing to help, that meant I needed to look around in another source. This psychic would also be impartial from Takara, which I liked, because there's no reason a book should be influencing my actions. It was just a little too "Tom Riddle's Diary" for me. I think the correlation offended Takara, which made me wonder how the hell she knew about Harry Potter. Her response was a bit out of character. "You're stupid and shut up, that's how!"

A few days later, Sakyo came to visit one last time, "There are rumors that the psychic Genkai is opening up her temple to outsiders for the first time in years. I'll arrange for you to get the supplies and transportation you need." He smirked, "I'll be keeping tabs on your spending and it'll be debited from your first paycheck." His eyes glanced to Takara, "Go ahead and take that. Its worth a small fortune in gems alone, but I'll consider it an investment in your training."

From there, I just had to pack and wait for the weekend.

A/N: Next chapter intersects the anime (episode 9 to be precise) and follows along from there pretty faithfully. I do adjust time frames occasionally because everything in the show seems to happen with no downtime, lol.