"I do have a particular project involving spiritual balance," you muse, "but that's a long-term goal, and not one that I can really get to work on without dealing with a few other issues first."
After all, you can't very well try to balance a full set of Elemental Hearts if you don't have all the Hearts TO balance. You still need five more of the things to complete your set, maybe a sixth if it turns out that standard Heart Containers don't have the correct sort of Life affinity for your purposes; based on your established collection rate, that will probably take you another year or two to sort out, and while you certainly could look into techniques for cultivating personal equilibrium and spiritual balance before then, you do have other, more pressing concerns that probably ought to be addressed first.
On that note...
"At the moment, I'm more interested in seeing if the school's techniques can help me shore up my spiritual health," you decide. "Because again, I live on the Hellmouth."
"It does bear repeating," Master Vincent agrees with a nod. "Well, if that's what you seek advice on, I would recommend Master Zen."
...
"Master Zen," you repeat.
Tucker Vincent nods.
"Not Zheng or even Zhen, but Zen."
Again, the master nods, his expression wryly empathetic.
"...is that his real name, or-?"
"It's the one we've always known him by," Lu-sensei tells you with a shrug. "Silliness aside, he was always one of the better students of the less physical aspects of our Style. I assume he's kept that up?" he adds, glancing at Tucker.
"He's still got a ways to go before he catches up to some of the elders," the other master replies, "but yes, he's well ahead of the rest of our class, and not such a prodigy that he can't explain the subject matter well enough for more modestly gifted learners to follow along."
Masters Wu and Reyes nod their agreement.
...
What the hell. The guy comes recommended by four masters, one of them your direct teacher; you should at least check out his class before you make any conclusions.
Seriously, though: Master ZEN?
Shaking your head, you ask the masters what they can tell you about the other martial arts schools of Taiwan.
"Which ones?" Master Vincent asks. "Tai Chi and Tae Kwon Do are the most popular styles, but you can find one like Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu or Mixed Martial Arts, if you look."
"Also," Master Wu says proudly, "we can take any of them, and anyone who says otherwise is either woefully misinformed, a shameful liar, or nursing a concussion."
Master Reyes looks at her peer. "...still sore about that loss to Lin, huh?"
"I know not of what you speak."
The two older men trade glances and then shake their heads at their younger counterpart's claims.
"He'll learn better in time," Lu-sensei notes.
"He ought to have learned already," Master Vincent replies.
The younger master frowns in consternation.
"I might recommend travel abroad, and not to one of our sibling schools."
"You might be right..."
Wu Dong starts to look concerned.
"In any case, Alex," Lu-sensei says then, "there IS a regional event coming up in a couple of days where you'll get a chance to see some of the other local styles. NOT a tournament," he adds, before you can ask, "although there will be some exhibition matches, some friendly impromptu ones, and a few genuine fights." Your master pauses, frowning. "Normally, I would say that there wouldn't be any outright ATTACKS, but after what happened at the World Tournament, I have to admit I am less certain on the matter."
Yeah, you're just going to leave that topic alone.
Never ask a question you don't want answered, and all that.
Intentionally limiting your own abilities is not actually a violation of your religious beliefs as a Dinnite, as long as it's something you choose to do of your own free will and doesn't involve backing down from a challenge you're fully capable of handling, but it does grate against your sensibilities a bit. Given the option, you would just as soon not do it - and so, you don't say anything on the matter.
Instead, you ask Lu-sensei how many days until the Not-a-Tournament Event-
"It starts Monday morning, and ends Tuesday evening," he replies.
-and make a mental note to get your sleeping cycle sorted out today or tomorrow, so that you'll be properly rested for the event. You can try and help your friends with that, too.
"Seriously, though," you ask, "are there any local rival schools we American Five Elements practitioners ought to be aware of, before we inadvertently provoke or accept a challenge we shouldn't have?"
"Oh, nothing so serious," Master Vincent says. "At least not anymore."
"There WAS a time when that sort of thing happened fairly frequently," Lu-sensei admits, "but that was back before the Japanese took over the country. The occupation lasted for fifty years, and as I said earlier, a lot of the native schools made a point of keeping their heads down for the duration. That's two generations that grew up HEARING about the old grudges and mortal rivalries, but SEEING their elders swallow those words in order to get along with people they hated less than they did the Japanese - and occasionally seeing somebody arrested or their hall closed because they couldn't or WOULDN'T control themselves." He shrugs. "By the time the occupation was over, a lot of the pre-existing conflicts between schools had gotten resolved, one way or another."
"And while that's not to say that NEW arguments haven't arisen in the years since," Master Tucker continues, "because they absolutely HAVE, we of the Five Elements Style have managed not to incur anything more serious than the usual personal rivalry or good-natured competition between schools."
Good to know.
Gained History (Taiwan) F (Plus) (Plus)
Maybe a little disappointing that you haven't inherited an ancient and mysterious sect of mystical martial artists as your sworn eternal rivals, or something like that, but also reassuring for that same lack.
Master Wu frowns at you at this point.
"If you're about to ask why I would WANT a rival sect-" you begin.
"No, no, that much makes a certain amount of sense," he replies. "It's just... am I hearing things, or has your accent improved since we started this conversation?"
"It probably has," you admit, before explaining how the Spell of Tongues and some other linguistic magics can help you learn a language in a much shorter span of time than usual.
Gained Language (Chinese) C
"...huh. Does that work for other skills, by any chance?"
Unfortunately, not really, or at least not that you've noticed. And you HAVE tested quite a spread of skills on the subject.
"Ah. That IS unfortunate."
In any case, you excuse yourself from this group of masters.
You're seriously considering leaving the adults to their business and tracking down Xiuying to see if she can tell or show you what she did that made her ki interfere with Briar's human disguise, but as you start for the door, you find your feet steering you towards Elder Terok and the masters he's sitting with.
Maybe it's the recent, passing mention of the Ring of Trials in your conversation with Masters Reyes, Vincent, and Wu? You did refrain from revealing anything of substance about the divine arena on the grounds that the old Goron might have wanted to be the one to introduce the masters to the idea, whether as a lead-in to trying to get another Ring set up near the School, to encourage a "field trip" to Bali Ha'i to make use of the existing one, or even just for the clerical bragging rights.
Grumpy as Terok can sometimes be, he IS still a priest, and proclaiming the wonders of the Goddesses (and Din in particular) IS a thing he's supposed to do.
In any case, consulting with him on the matter before you step out seems like a decent idea.
And if you happen to overhear some tales of martial valor in the process? Bonus.
"-and with a mighty heave," the Elder is saying, both arms coming up in a sudden movement, as if tossing a rock as big as the body they're attached to, "the Hylian flipped his opponent out of the ring for the final time, winning the match and the wager, and throwing his back out in the process!"
"And this was allowed?" one of the masters in his audience wonders. "The boots, I mean."
"Oh, there were a few grumblers," Terok admits. "Proud young fools are the same all over, whatever their culture or species. But the Goron who'd actually been fighting didn't protest, the elders overseeing the match found no reason to object to the Hylian's use of Iron Boots, and the priest of Din in attendance just laughed when one of the brats tried to get him to intervene. After all, the Boots didn't make their wearer any stronger, they just gave him enough extra weight and stability that he could stand up to an opponent four times his size without being casually brushed aside! Everything after that was down to personal strength, technique, and determination. And it didn't hurt that the Hylian had made the Boots himself," the old Goron adds. "My people count many smiths among our number, and that sort of skill is respected."
You wonder how that applies to Link. From what you can recall, he's been on good terms with the Gorons in a number of lifetimes - good enough to be entrusted with some of their sacred relics - and yet his entire arsenal consists of things he found, rather than made...
Then again, Link tends to "find" things in the course of ruin-diving and monster-slaying. The Gorons would have no objections at all to somebody using things he'd won in that manner to help him in future trials.
"Speaking of proud young fools," Terok says then, shifting his bulk about as he turns to regard you, "what can I-" He stops, dark eyes blinking in consternation as he peers past you, to where a nervous Kokiri stands, trying not to be seen.
From the frown and faint rumble, you suspect Elder Terok is about to say something to his smaller counterpart.
Also, when you do speak, what will it be of?
Realistically speaking, you can only cover for someone else for so long before they've got to face the music, or in this case, the grumpy Goron. Not to mention that you probably shouldn't be covering for an adherent of the Goddess of Courage to begin with - or rather, KORON shouldn't be hiding from the things that scare him.
Points for actually being in the same room with a bunch of strange old humans, but still.
Anyway, you decide to hold your piece and let your elder speak his mind, and Terok wastes no time in doing so.
"Koron," the Elder rumbles levelly, "what are you doing back there?"
"Nothing! Nothing."
"Really? Because 'nothing' looks quite a lot like you're trying to hide behind the boy..." Terok trails off, a hint of suspicion creeping into his craggy features. "You aren't plotting a prank, are you?"
Huh?
"Whu- I mean, ha ha, I would never-"
Terok's frown deepens.
"-oh, alright," Koron says, affecting a sigh that you can't help but notice sounds too forced to be genuine. "You caught me, I'll just go stand outside the door, that's what they do in schools, right?"
You blink, at once curious as to where Koron heard about students being punished by being made to stand in a hall - you're pretty sure you didn't mention it, because that's not how things are done at Sunnydale Elementary, not that you'd know from PERSONAL experience, of course - impressed by his quick thinking to excuse himself from an uncomfortable situation, and a bit dismayed.
You decide not to interfere. If Koron's managed to pull the leaves over Terok's eyes AND find a vaguely socially-acceptable reason to duck out of a situation he finds uncomfortable - even if only for a short time - then you'll leave him to it.
...and possibly take notes for future reference.
"So, Elder," you say, once Koron is out the door, "while I was in conversation with some of the other Masters-"
You gesture towards Lu-sensei's group, and Terok glances in that direction for a moment before turning back to you with a slight nod and a rumble of inquiry.
"-the Ring of Trials came up. Lu-sensei and I weren't sure if you or the others had planned to broach the topic, and Koron didn't say anything one way or another, so we didn't say anything ourselves, but at least two of our hosts are now aware that the Ring exists and are curious to learn more about what it is. I thought I should let you know about that and see what your thoughts on the matter were, before I said anything more to anyone else."
The Goron follows your slightly rambling recount easily enough, nodding once when you've finished. "Good thinking," he commends you. "Not that I think you'd speak ill of your own experiences in the Ring, or those of your friends, but there are some things about the Trials that you either aren't aware of or don't quite have the correct perspective to understand."
You'd like to think that your understanding of the Rings from a theological perspective is pretty solid, but you suppose that Elder Terok could be referring to the historical context and importance of such structures, in which case you can see where he's coming from. Your grasp of Hyrulean history is still a bit dodgy, due in large part to the scattershot manner by which you've acquired most of your information: tidbits dropped by your instructors in the course of other lessons; stuff that Briar has said; things referred to in the holy books; and of course, Ganondorf's memories. You're far from ignorant about the Kingdom's long and storied past, but a lot of what you know is in the form of disjointed fragments, picked up in isolation from one another and the greater spread of history, and almost none of those pieces have anything to say about Rings of Trial.
...or should that be Rings of Trials?
Well, there you go; if you aren't even sure about what the correct plural is, you can't call yourself an expert on the subject, now can you?
"Your pardon," one of Terok's audience asks then, drawing your attention and that of the Goron Elder to himself, "but what is this 'Ring' to which you are referring?"
You and Terok trade glances, and you gesture for the expert on the subject to go ahead.
Terok huffs in amusement and then draws himself up slightly. "The Ring of Trials is a Hyrulean structure based on old combat arenas..."
As Elder Terok begins to recount the history and full significance of the Ring(s) of Trial(s) - something about them dating back to an ancient dragon that served the Goddesses? - you back away and quietly exit the dojo.
Koron is standing to one side of the door and looks up as you exit, his expression and body language still a bit unsettled, but much less on edge than he was a minute ago.
"Hey," he greets you. "Um, listen, sorry if it seemed like-"
"I get it," you interrupt calmly. "You were out of your comfort zone, you saw a way to get clear, and you took it. Nobody got hurt" - you pause, glancing down at the floor where you can still sense Koron's magic reaching across the dojo to reinforce the boards underneath Terok's considerable bulk - "and nothing's been damaged, except maybe the impression you were giving some of the masters."
Koron winces at that. "Uh, yeah. Not the most diplomatic move ever, huh?"
"Oh, don't worry yourselves about it too much," an unfamiliar voice says.
You give a slight start - and Koron a slightly bigger one - as you turn about to regard the little old master who has been meditating by himself all this time. He's still sitting in the same spot as before, but now his eyes are open as he smiles genially up at you.
"One learns many lessons on the path to mastery," the old man continues. "Among them is how to recognize when someone is neither comfortable nor confident in a situation, and how to help them save face by not making a fuss when they remove themselves from said situation in a timely manner."
"...had more than a few students nervous about being called before the assembled teachers, huh," you surmise.
"And more than a few that blurted out the first excuse that came to mind to get out from under our collective attention," he agrees with an amiable nod.
Koron considers that for a moment. "Normally, I might be a little annoyed at being taken for a kid, but in this case-"
"If it helps," the master offers, "our School has a number of student-ranked adults, and I can recall a few such individuals making hasty exits after being called before the masters."
"-and like that, I am no longer annoyed."
Seeing that this situation, too, seems to be tentatively resolved, you continue on your way out of the main dojo. You can't speak for where the rest of your companions have gotten to, but the direction and force of the "pull" of the familiar bond suggests that, Briar, at least, seems to have joined the noon lunch crowd in the dining hall.
A quick, wordless pulse of telepathic inquiry gets you a confirmation that Amy and Cordy are with her. Larry and Lily, on the other hand...
There's a question that has been nagging at you for a while now, namely: what exactly did Briar's opponent do, that knocked her out of her human disguise? You weren't aware that ki could do that, although it does make a certain amount of sense in hindsight, given that various spells can influence ki use: Ki Arrow; Ki Leech; and of course, the Antimagic Field.
While it may not be all that surprising for such an ability to exist, the fact that it was available through the School of Five Elements IS something entirely new to you... unless, possibly, Lu-sensei used it in his one brief encounter with the Hawaiian Sorcerer, or at various points during the World Tournament, and your awareness of ki just wasn't sharp enough to notice it or figure out what he was doing?
Seems like a possibility.
Anyway, with your academic and acquisitive instincts roused, you decide to go in search of Briar's opponent - and since you last saw the girl in question in the company of your partner and the other Sunnydale girls, you head for the dining hall to ask them if they know where Xiuying is.
There's a non-zero chance that she's still with them, after all, and even if she isn't, they're your best bet for a starting point that doesn't require magic.
Worse comes to worst, you can always fire off a quick Spell to Locate a Creature...
That proves unnecessary, as when you enter the hall, you find that Xiuying is in fact sitting with Briar, Cordelia, and Amy. You're a little surprised to see that all of them have been eating something, given that your previous meal was basically suppertime by the Sunnydale clock, but then again, you DID pick up Amy and Cordy from out of town - a whole other state for the former and entirely off the mainland for the other - so they could just be following different schedules.
As for Briar, she IS a bit of a round-the-clock snacker. Whether that's your influence, her nature as a fairy, or a personal quirk, you are always careful not to speculate too openly...
Amy makes room for you, and after the girls have finished their current line of conversation - a discussion about What To Do at the School of Five Elements When You're Bored, which has you taking a couple of notes - you explain the reason for your presence.
"I was wondering how long it would take you to ask about that," Briar replies. "As it happens, we" - she gestures at herself and at Xiuying - "already talked about it with one of the instructors."
And?
It turns out that the technique Xiuying used against Briar was not an advanced or secret technique of the Five Elements Style - it was, in fact, a Ki Strike, albeit a more advanced use of the skill than you have personally managed. Evidently at higher levels, Ki Strike stops being just an internal reinforcement of whatever part of the body you happen to be striking with, and starts taking on... external qualities.
"You're saying that we can eventually learn how to make our hands glow with an awesome power?" you ask frankly.
"...maybe?" Xiuying hedges. "If you look at the completed technique through Ki Sight, it does have an impressive aura, but the instructors have said that in most situations, devoting enough energy to the technique to make your hand ACTUALLY glow is just wasteful."
But if Xiuying was just using Ki Strike... what happened?
Looking a tad embarrassed, the older girl admits that she is still getting to grips with the "glowing" form of the technique, and is not quite at the point where she can always reliably control it in a spar. Most of the time, this isn't an issue, but in this case, Xiuying was up against an opponent she'd never fought before, whose skill and unfamiliarity proved to be enough to pressure her. The real tipping point, though, is the fact that Briar isn't human. Xiuying has fought a few fellow students with non-human heritage, but a full-blooded fairy is something entirely outside of her experience, and she wasn't prepared for how her externally-expressed ki would interact with Briar's own Fae essence, let alone with the hints of YOUR magic coming through the familiar bond added into the mix.
She simply lost control of her Ki Strike, the energy that should have been bound up inside of it discharging in a rather violent and entirely random manner at the moment they connected with Briar. And since Briar's human form is a temporary effect rather than a permanent transformation, the sudden and unexpected introduction of a jolt of aggressive energy simply broke it.
Xiuying adds that the instructor she and Briar spoke with mentioned that there actually IS a "Dispelling Fist" Technique, but it's not customarily taught until a student has demonstrated mastery over a few other techniques, chief among them the Ki Strike. Partly, that's to ensure that when the adept is in a situation where they NEED to dispel something, the technique doesn't misfire or gutter out and get them killed, but it's also meant to prevent needless harm to the people the ki-user fights.
Having a mass of ki explode while in direct contact with a body it's foreign to is the sort of thing that has the potential to get ugly.
Gained Knowledge (Ki) D (Plus) (Plus)
You've made your daily sacrifices to the beast that is your stomach; unless you underwent a LOT more physical activity, any further food would just be disturbing your evening digestion.
Besides, you're about to ask Serious Questions and hopefully get Serious Answers about the mysteries of ki use; you don't want any of the blood your brain needs for that to be going to your stomach.
Xiuying nods at your inquiry. "The way Instructor Tang put it was that, seven times out of ten, if you're in a situation where you need to use a ki technique to generate light, using a technique that's MEANT to make light is the better move than using one like Ki Strike, which only produces light at higher levels, and even then, not nearly as much as the dedicated technique."
"'Seven times'?" Cordelia echoes curiously. "Not nine?"
The older girl shakes her head and begins counting off. "Sometimes, you're in the middle of a fight and can't afford the extra focus or energy that a dedicated Ki Light would require, so a technique like Ki Strike that generates light as a side-effect can pull double-duty, of a sort."
That fits, and makes for the eighth time.
"Other times," Xiuying continues, "you're in a situation where the other party would be more impressed or intimidated by glowing hands than a self-powered lightbulb, so it just makes sense to give yourself the advantage."
That also works, and is the ninth.
"And then there are those times when something weird is going on, and 'magic glowing hands' are exactly the technique you NEED," Xiuying concludes. "Instructor Tang's example was a Spirit of Darkness that he saw his master fight off once. He needed to use Ki Strike to actually affect the spirit, but without the light, it would have taken a lot longer to drive the thing away - or so he said?"
No, no, that fits. Darkness is vulnerable to Light, and even the presence of a relatively mundane light-source could disorient and actively weaken an Elemental Spirit of Darkness. It overlaps with the second example a bit, but elementals aren't just intimidated by their opposite force, they can be physically and spiritually harmed by it under the correct circumstances.
"I managed to talk to all of the instructors about it," your partner replies. "A few of them volunteered to check with the kids who'd gone back to their dorms, and a couple more went off to check on the students who had other plans. I'm still waiting to hear back from two of them, but so far, there doesn't seem to be anybody who saw little-me - or at least no one who's admitted to it."
You're a little surprised that a class of that size, with so many kids capable of tapping into their ki, doesn't appear to have had more individuals capable of seeing fairies in it, but you're going to hold off on drawing any conclusions just yet.
It IS only the one class out of the entire School, after all.
With your main interests addressed, you spend a while just hanging out and talking, before...
...you went looking for the Blaisdells.
You ask the girls where Larry and his grandmother got off to.
"Larry said he was feeling tired enough to go catch a few winks and try to get ahead of the jet lag," Cordelia replies. "He was a little nervous about sleeping in an unfamiliar place, though, so Mrs. Blaisdell went with him."
Ah. And how long ago was this?
The girls trade glances. "Five, maybe ten minutes before you showed up?" Amy ventures.
Must have just missed them on your way here, then. That said, Larry could still be awake; you know his usual bedtime is around nine, and it's not quite eight o'clock by Sunnydale time, so unless he got up extra early this morning, he should still have enough energy to be a little restless. Particularly since it's noon here in Taiwan, and the day is clear and bright.
And if he is awake, you could help him sort that out.
Excusing yourself, you leave the dining hall and head back to the dormitory. Briar honestly seems to be enjoying Xiuying's company, so when she pulses an inquiry at you through the familiar bond, you tell her that it's fine if she stays with the girls a while longer - though not in so many words.
Sure enough, when you return to the dorm, you find that Larry has changed into his pajamas but remains wide awake. He's working with his grandmother to try and cover the windows in your shared dorm room with some of the blankets, and looks relieved when you announce yourself by knocking on the doorframe.
"Hey, Alex," he greets you. "Do you have any spells for creating blinds, or thick drapes?"
"I can do you one better and knock you out with a Sleep Spell," you offer. "That way, we can leave the window open and keep a breeze going in here."
Larry considers that, the general atmosphere, and the light but concealing nature of his sleepwear, and then nods. "Yeah, that works better."
Do you have any questions for Larry, before you put him under for a bit?
Also, is there anything you wanted to discuss with Lily while you're here?
You dig into your dimensional pocket and pull out the smaller of the two human-sized "spare" Blankets that you made, and which were later politely returned by their intended recipients. This is the one that was originally meant for Amy, so it's the right size for Larry to use now, and since you didn't include any embarrassing colors or designs on it - just a dark, restful shade of blue with some pinpoints of shimmering white to suggest a starry sky - there's no reason for him to object there.
That said, he might refuse on the same grounds that Amy, Briar, and your folks did, but you go ahead and make the offer anyway, being sure to explain how using the Restful Blanket to the fullest extent of its power might end up giving him more hours in the day than he knows what to do with or is entirely comfortable with.
Larry thinks it over and decides to give it a try - "Just for a short nap," as he puts it.
His grandmother agrees to wake him in an hour to see how the magically enhanced sleep worked out for him, and you apply a Spell of Sleep to send your bud off to Dreamland.
You have two quick questions for Lily Blaisdell, and after the two of you have stepped out of the dorm room, you ask the first, inquiring if there's anything she needs of you before you go on your way.
Lily indicates that she's fine, although if you've heard anything from the local big-wigs about which classes she's supposed to help out in...?
"The masters are still talking to two of the priests I introduced them to," you reply. "Lu-sensei thought they'd be done in... another ten, maybe fifteen minutes? If you wanted me to ask about that then, I can."
"Thanks for the offer, but I can just as well ask them myself," Lily replies.
Fair enough.
On a related note, you take a moment to ask Mrs. Blaisdell what she knows about magic guns.
"Enough to know that nobody's come up with a practical way of making modern ones yet," she replies frankly. "Jake got his hands on some magic shells a few times, and he noticed that the vampires he took out with those rounds tended to leave more of their stuff behind-"
You nod, because that was covered in your copy of Vampyr.
Whether you use a stake, beheading, fire, or other methods, killing a corpse-demon breaks the connection that anchors its animating demonic essence to its once-mortal body, banishing the former back to whichever Hell-dimension it crawled out of. The process isn't clean or complete, resulting in a certain amount of the demon's essence getting left behind in the corpse - and then, since that energy no longer has the demon's will controlling it, it runs wild, burning itself out and taking the body with it. There's some argument as to whether this is an echo of some instinctive survival strategy of the original demonic entity, like a lizard shedding its tail to escape a predator, if it's more in the nature of an engineered self-destruct, denying the potential asset of harvested corpse-demon parts to the enemy, or if it's just something that happens.
When magical methods of extermination are employed, however, they can potentially force out some of that animating essence before the point of destruction is reached. Preserving the corpse itself generally isn't possible, outside of extremely old vampires that have been known to leave deformed skeletons, and sometimes personal possessions that have been exposed to a corpse-demon's energies for so long are also destroyed regardless of what measures are taken to prevent it, but it IS possible to break the connection that the demon has to less significant items, or at least mute it enough for them to survive their owner's destruction.
"-but since most vampires don't carry much money, and those shells cost as much as they did while still only being a bit more effective than regular rounds, it wasn't worth the trouble," Lily continues.
And that was ALSO mentioned in the book. Shotguns have been around long enough that it's possible to enhance them, but the basic Spell to Create a Magic Weapon can have some compatibility issues with them, only lasts for a few minutes besides, and doesn't offer more than a fractional increase in effectiveness. The Greater version of the spell is more practical, but requires the involvement of a competent magic-user - an asset that not every hunter has access to - and is still ultimately a temporary effect. The sort of bullets Mr. Blaisdell would have been using would have needed to be crafted as magic items useable by those without magical training, meaning artisanal craftsmanship on top of the enchantment cost, and when you factor in the limited degree of improvement that the magic would offer, it just wouldn't be practical for most people.
"Why do you ask?" Larry's grandmother inquires.
You quickly explain to Mrs. Blaisdell that you recently spent some time working with Ambrose and Balthazar - who she's met, if only that one time at your birthday - to identify the natures and histories of a rather large number of magical items, among which were some of the personal possessions of a demon-hunting cowboy.
You then recount the Legend of the Man With Only One Name, adding that you claimed Lake's gear as part of your payment, and that while his six-shooters aren't enchanted in and of themselves, they have the right mix of innate quality and historical weight - as well as exposure to the supernatural - for them to take an enchantment. And while it'll be a while yet before you can get on that-
You explain Arthur Drake's reluctance to let you claim a pair of firearms without first making sure you've been trained in their proper use and care.
Lily nods once, clearly in completely agreement with Altria's father on the subject.
-you were hoping that she might be able to direct you towards someone that could give you some pointers.
A possible source for enchanted ammo isn't quite the same as knowing a magic gunsmith, but it's definitely a step in the right direction.
"Not much of a step," Lily replies, shaking her head. "Jake had three sources for those magic rounds, at least that I knew of, and I can't see any of them doing you much good."
Not the most auspicious beginning...
"The first fellow was another hunter who lived in Oxnard, name of Mack. He and Jake used to hunt together sometimes, and he had a source in L.A. for those shells and a few other things. I never caught the source's name or address, though, and from the way Jake suddenly stopped talking about Mack thirty years back, I'm pretty sure he's been dead a long time."
...honestly, that's probably a safe assumption.
"Jake's second source was a one-time deal with an out-of-towner who needed some cash in a hurry and was unloading some things at the flea market," Lily continues. "Jake said he was pretty sure that young man wasn't using his real name, but the rounds looked just as good as the ones Mack's supplier came up with, and the boy clearly needed the money and a way out of town, so Jake did him a good turn. We never heard from the lad after that, but he didn't turn up in any of the obituaries or missing persons reports, either, so..."
She shrugs.
Fingers crossed, you guess.
"As for Jake's last source... well, you've met Dibbler."
...
"He deals in SHOTGUN SHELLS?" you ask in disbelief, and no small amount of concern.
"That man deals in EVERYTHING, eventually," Lily sighs. "The questionable food and food-like products are just his safety net."
...
Well, then.
You've only met Sam Dibbler on the one occasion, but that encounter combined with what Amy had to say of her prior experience with the man was enough to give you some honest concerns about doing business with him in general, much less for something as potentially hazardous as a supernatural arms deal.
Dibbler's twice-mislabeled "vegetarian" hotdogs and self-proclaimed willingness to take a loss on a sale just to MAKE the deal were bad enough; when you try to picture how such business practices might translate to dealing in weapons... well.
Still, seeing as how there is a potential source for magical modern ammunition in Sunnydale proper, you should probably check it out before you go troubling your friends and allies overseas on the matter.
But that's a matter for when you're back in Sunnydale, and preferably wearing a disguise. Right now, it's getting on towards the time that Lu-sensei suggested you swing back by the dojo to see if the masters have had their concerns about the origins of your magical training sufficiently eased, or if they require more stories assurances first.
Mrs. Blaisdell accompanies you, and in short order you arrive to find that Elder Terok has finished talking about the Ring of Trials and trading stories of personal favorite fighters; he and the masters he was sitting with have been joined by most of those that were originally talking to Lu-sensei, and are now just waiting patiently as Madam Lanora and her bunch continue to exchange legends. The Zoran priestess's discourse of Hyrulean history and myth is concluded, at least for the moment, and one of the masters is telling about what sounds like recent history of the School of the Five Elements - and by "recent," you mean "within the last decade or two."
"No undead uprisings?" Lu-sensei greets you quietly.
The odd acknowledgement has Mrs. Blaisdell frowning and glancing over her shoulder at the sunny outdoors. "Do they have some kind of sun-resistant vampire or the like in this country?" she wonders.
"Sensei's just making a joke, ma'am," you tell her. "And no, sir, nothing of the kind. How have things been on your end?"
"There was some interest in the Ring of Trials after Elder Terok finished explaining what it is and involves," your master answers. "Not so much, however, that I think we have to worry about anyone organizing a petition for a field trip or the like. At least not before your Goddesses' next holy day."
Unless you're forgetting an obscure festival - and you might be, admittedly - that should be Midsummer's Day, which is... basically next week, right at the tail end of your visit?
...um.
Even with a full tank of magical gas, Shadow Alex's assistance, and extensive use of ritual casting, you can't see how you'd be able to ferry the entire population of the School to Bali Ha'i and still have enough mana left to operate the Ring of Trials for any serious length of time on such short notice - to say nothing of the issues of the return trip and the likely need for (at least temporary) accommodations for a couple hundred souls.
There's a REASON you spent most of the month leading up to your birthday making preparations, and that was for something like a third to a quarter of the number of people you've seen here.
A smaller group would be manageable, though there is the question of just HOW small a group you're talking about, here. Teleportation would let you move six people at a time - not counting yourself and Briar - but anything more than one such group would require you to teleport back to the School to get each new set of passengers, effectively doubling the mana cost of transporting every group beyond the first. Granted, you could offload some of that cost to Shadow Alex, but every bit of mana or pseudo-mana spent that way would be a few spell levels' less to fuel the Ring itself.
It's a shame you can't just open up a Gate to Bali Ha'i and hustle everyone through, but...
...
...well, no, now that you think about it, you actually COULD do that. You HAVE been studying the Lesser Spell to Create a Demiplane for months, now, and you have a couple of planar keys attuned to the Astral and Ethereal Planes. All you'd need to do would be to decide which plane to place your temporary private realm on, take two, maybe three hours to perform the necessary ritual to generate said pocket reality - time that is easily acquired thanks to your Restful Blanket and the fact that you are On Vacation and thus have a clear schedule for the wee hours of the morning - and then to make sure that the key you used was properly attuned to the demiplane, so that you could Gate back there.
It should work. The demiplane would be a thing of YOUR creation, linked to you in ways no other plane could be, and the ritual IS designed to attune the key used to the resulting realm - you've just never actually done the whole song and dance before, so you aren't one hundred percent certain it'll work out.
More like ninety-nine percent.
Of course, since you don't want to set off the School's wards again, you'd have to step off of the grounds to perform the ritual, but that was going to be necessary regardless of which method of travel you used - Greater Teleport is also a seventh-circle spell, after all - so really, it just means letting the masters know your plans ahead of time so that they can sort out their schedules, and also so that nobody worries if they find you out of bed or roaming the grounds before sunrise.
Or, you know, if somebody here happens to be sensitive to magical emanations and sees a magical sunrise at like, four in the morning... but no, a Private Sanctum would prevent that and help keep your activities from drawing attention to the School. So that is also a definite Must-Have addition to mention to the masters, no matter which method you go with.
Regardless of how you handle the travel arrangements for this impromptu field trip to Bali Ha'i and how many people are allowed to go, there is also the matter of many will be allowed to fight.
Calling two dozen people a "small" group is perhaps a bit of a stretch, except in comparison to larger groups like the combined population of the School of Five Elements, but it does serve as a decent upper benchmark for how many people you're willing to bring along on this excursion.
It would be enough to bring all the masters along and a few instructors besides, but you have your doubts they'll go for an arrangement like that. They've got responsibilities, after all: classes to teach; discipline to enforce; and examples to set, to name just a few. SOMEBODY has to be here to make sure all of that keeps running in a manageable fashion for the... call it five hours, at the outside, that the traveling masters would be on Bali Ha'i with you. And that's assuming a full complement and EVERYBODY taking a turn in the Ring, which would require you to use some mana restoratives or multiple instances of Shadow Alex.
Honestly, the potions are probably the better option. Your Shadow might get a little grumpy about doing a big favor for a bunch of old people who are pretty much strangers to you, and having them compensate you for the cost of the magic involved would clear some of the debt they'd otherwise owe.
Not all of it, but the prospect of getting to watch a bunch of master-ranked martial artists as they take on some of Hyrule's meanest promises to be educational, to say the least.
"Aaaand you are scheming again," Lu-sensei sighs. "Dare I ask WHEN, exactly, the magic kingdom's next high holy day is?"
"It's not actually a HOLY day," you clarify, "but there are festivals and religious observations at Midsummer."
"Because of course there are," your teacher grumps. "And that's, what, the twentieth?"
"Twenty-first."
He just nods at that. "I suppose you've already plotted out an itinerary?"
"It was more like figuring out the logistics, but yeah, if they're really interested, it's doable."
You quickly sum up your thoughts on the matter, and then give Lu-sensei a minute to think.
"I might had said that two dozen was an overly generous estimate of how many would be interested in visiting the Ring, much less participating in it," your master admits, "but this lot have surprised me a time or two before, and that was without the good Elder hyping up the event or our own contributions to its allure." Shaking his head, Lu Tze says, "Very well, I'll bring the idea up with the rest of them - but let's finish up the outstanding business first, shall we?"
Yeah, you suppose it's always possible that this council of masters might decide that you needed to be thrown out of the School or something.
Seems incredibly UNLIKELY, given how Lanora and Terok had something like eighty percent of the crowd participating in their discussions, but you never know...
Madam Lanora and the masters she's been talking with all this time undoubtedly noticed your return, because their conversation took on a certain, not exactly hurried air while you were discussing Trials with Lu-sensei.
You are reminded of times when you or your parents have been reading to Zelda and had to find a good place to pause the story to attend to another matter, albeit one that didn't have the immediacy of a ringing phone or a timer going off in the kitchen.
Shortly after you agree to let your teacher be the one to broach the matter of a small field trip to Bali Ha'i, the other discussion in the room comes to a (no doubt temporary) halt.
"Apologies for the delay," Master Tucker offers. "I could say we only took so long because we wanted to be thorough in our inquiry, but... really, how often does one get to meet people from another world who AREN'T interested in biting your face off?"
You nod in agreement, knowing that your magical abilities aren't skewing your personal experience that far off from the norm for once. Most of the Hyrulean monsters you've called up would not have hesitated to take a bite out of you if you'd met under different circumstances, and even your priestly tutors could have easily chosen to resort to violence if you'd been more in-tune with your past self at your first meeting with them.
"Have Madam Lanora and Elder Terok"
"-settled your concerns about the origins of my magical training?" you inquire.
"By and large, yes," the spokesmaster says with a nod. "At least for the ORIGINS. There are still some... reservations... about the sheer CAPACITY you've demonstrated, particularly given your age, but your tutors have made clear the absence of any unholy, abusive, or otherwise unacceptable methods of training and empowerment."
You consider that for a moment, because there technically ARE a couple of "unholy" influences on your power. You're still not going to bring up Ganondorf, of course, and the priests definitely wouldn't have done so, but that leaves Batreaux, who you wouldn't have had any real issue with being mentioned and were honestly kind of expecting the clerical trio-turned-duo to have talked about at some point.
Even leaving aside the part where he's your DARK MASTER and the strongest external influence on your arcane knowledge and skill, Batreaux is a reformed demon - one who not only willingly gave up his UNHOLY POWERS to become mortal, but led the sort of life that allowed him to become a celestial after his passing.
That kind of thing is a Pretty Big Deal.
Koron was actively avoiding the general conversation on your last visit, took himself out of the room altogether as soon as he found a reasonably polite means of doing so, and didn't try to rejoin it in your absence. Vert, meanwhile, seems to have been more focused on his uneasy partner than on that one master who mentioned seeing a "little glowing ball with wings" - or maybe he DID talk to that guy, and you just missed it?
Either way, the Kokiri and the fairy had minimal involvement in the hour-plus discussion, so you figure it's easiest not to bring them up again.
And since you're already not mentioning people who weren't involved in the conversation, if the DREAD NAME of your DARK MASTER wasn't brought up before, there's no reason to invoke him now. Not the least because people would probably want to meet Batreaux in the (spiritual) flesh to confirm your claims, and you'd never be able to get him here without a major summoning ritual that would probably set off the School's alarm ward again.
"If it helps any," you say, "you aren't the first people to have some concerns about my having any demonic entanglements, and you've been a lot more polite in how you expressed your views than some folks have."
"How so?" one of the masters inquires.
"Well, the outstanding example was the wizard who decided to slap a seal on my magic right after he found out where I live..."
You aren't too surprised when a few members of the audience prove to be familiar with Ambrose's name or reputation, although the fact that it's only four out of the twenty-two assembled masters does catch you off-guard.
Two of those - including Master Nielson - recognize the old menace's name from his involvement in the Big Scary Shadow Monster Incident at the World Tournament. Their reactions very much speak to second- or even thirdhand accounts, a sort of, "We'd never heard of this guy before because he doesn't normally move in the same circles that we do, and based on what we've been told, we're happy to keep it that way going forward, but we ARE genuinely relieved he was there and chose to get involved."
The other two masters who reacted to Ambrose's name - one with a facepalm, the other a groan - have actually met and dealt with him in person, and are familiar enough with his antics that they can accept and support your claim that he not only tried to seal your magic, but did so in a way that would have told any opportunist patrons to piss off.
Of course, saying as much brings up the question of how, exactly, you got that seal removed.
Anyway, with the nature of your magic having passed muster with the masters, they get on to establishing some ground rules. Obviously, they would prefer that you not run around casting spells whenever and wherever you please - and certainly nothing that would trip the wards, which is to say, anything sixth-circle or higher - but at the same time, they are very interested in the sort of resource that you represent, if not quite in the way you were starting to get used to.
There aren't any magic-users of significance currently attending or otherwise associated with this particular branch of the School of the Five Elements, and while they have their own experiences and the hired help of a few local practitioners to provide pointers on the more common forms of magic that a modern ki adept can expect to run into eventually, the greater and rarer spells and phenomenon are something that have remained entirely in the realm of theory - and myth - even for their "expert advisors."
In short, the masters would be very happy if you would speak in or hold demonstrations for some of their classes while you're here. They are, however, not about to force this upon you - you ARE a guest, after all.
If you do agree, how often will you provide these special classes?
"Funny story; it didn't actually work..."
The two masters who've met Ambrose are visibly surprised to hear that his seal failed, and even a bit disbelieving - which just proves that they HAVE met the wizard, under circumstances that allowed him to show off the fact that he generally DOES know what he's doing, at least when it comes to matters arcane.
You proceed to explain that Ambrose's seal was meant to interfere with your ability to tap into external sources of power, which is the most widespread approach to using magic on Earth. Be they divine patrons, demonic masters, artifacts of a wide range of origins and motivations, or the largely neutral flow of natural energy, most modern spellcasters are indeed reliant upon some other entity for the power they need to practice their craft. Take away that ability to channel energy originating beyond one's self - as Ambrose's seal WAS successful in doing - and the the spellcaster in question would be limited to only their own personal reserves of mana, which are almost never anywhere near as impressive.
"Unless, of course," you add, "you happen to be trained in a style of magic that emphasizes the use of internal magic from the very beginning, and spends a significant amount of effort on expanding, strengthening, and maintaining those reserves."
Basically every master in the room had figured out where you were going with this when you first mentioned personal reserves, but your clarification that Hyrulean Sorcery actively trains its practitioners' reserves draws some surprise and further interest.
It is, after all, not entirely dissimilar to learning how to use ki. That's a kind of discipline and improvement that these masters of the martial arts can relate to.
You do note that your personal power isn't SOLELY the result of training, as your personal reserves of mana were exceptional to begin with and had a lot of room to grow on top of that. You also clarify that just because a spellcaster primarily uses external or internal magic doesn't prevent them from employing the other: almost every external caster has at least a LITTLE internal magic and could still perform a cantrip or three even when cut off from their usual sources; and you personally make extensive use of external rituals to bolster your reserves.
This dissertation MAY have something to do with the masters' subsequent request for you to give a few lectures and/or demonstrations...
While you are on vacation, you were planning on it being a fairly active vacation, and there isn't too big a shift in going from spending several hours each day attending martial arts classes to TEACHING a few of said classes. You also have no compunctions about providing live demonstrations to supplement your "lectures."
That said, you would rather not have such a class every day. Your reserves aren't bottomless, there's that two-day not-a-tournament coming up, and of course, if the masters accept your offer to visit Bali Ha'i, you'd like to have your reserves mostly full at the end of the week.
Lu-sensei's peers nod in agreement to your stated terms, adding that it would take a day so to work out where and when to hold these supplementary lessons anyway.
Aside from the matter of the Ring of Trials, which Lu-sensei will be taking care of, is there anything else you want to talk about with the Masters of the School of Five Elements at this time?
The Five Elements Style places a certain emphasis on the value of surprise, and you think that it would be very much in keeping with that philosophy if you were to arrange a spar with one of them and then pull out Maximum Power.
Granted, since at least some of them have seen the tapes of the World Tournament Under Tens Division Finals, this wouldn't have quite the same impact as springing the technique on someone who had no idea of its existence, but you think you could still surprise the masters quite a bit with how much you've developed the skill in the last year.
You might not achieve "Maximum Surprise," but "Powerful Surprise" would definitely be doable.
That said, you aren't quite sure how to suggest such an idea without sounding like a braggart, and such an attitude is definitely not one you want to give, especially not after all the time and effort you and your summoned allies have put into giving a good first (or second) impression over the matter of your magical tutelage.
You make a mental note to discuss this idea with Lu-sensei later.
You're quite sure that Koron's response to being asked whether he wants to stay or go home is going to be overwhelmingly in favor of the later, but you check with Madam Lanora and Elder Terok to see if they'd prefer to be dismissed now or if they want to hang around a while longer.
You're not too surprised when the Zoran priestesses requests to stay and continue her discussion, whereas the old Goron hems and haws for a moment before deciding that he should head back.
As you're about to leave, you ask the masters if there's a class with a more academic focus you could sit in on, either right now or in the immediate future. Having taken part in one of the school's physically oriented lessons, you feel the need to see how they do the other side of things.
As it happens, you've got a few options.
Of the available classes, math and anatomy appeal to you the most. It might have something to do with the fact that you have a quarter of an hour before said lessons commence, which is time enough to get to wherever they're being held without having to resort to ki-boosted speeds, even if you get lost once or twice along the way.
It IS your first day at the School of Five Elements, after all, and the campus - so to speak - is large enough that you could see visitors getting turned around and running late a few times before they figure out where everything is.
The draw of the math class undoubtedly ties into your extensive use of formulas and equations in your magic. While it's not as straightforward as, "One plus one equals boom," numbers definitely have their place in magic, and you've had some practice with their more mundane applications as part of your studies. More knowledge of that field certainly wouldn't hurt you, and there might be some ki-based exploits Lu-sensei hasn't gotten around to mentioning yet.
Even taking that into account, it's the lesson on anatomy that really gets your attention. Maybe it's the allure of the legendary Touch of Death, or perhaps you'd just like to shore up your first aid skills before they become necessary in a venue where magical healing would be problematic, but either way, that's the class you decide to attend.
You give a moment's thought to calling up Shadow Alex to attend the math class, but stop yourself for three reasons.
First of all, the masters JUST asked you not to cast spells over fifth-circle. The Spell of the Dark Self is seventh-circle, and even if you would be invoking it through the Heart of Courage, it doesn't get any less POWERFUL, it's just less expensive for you. The first time, anyway.
On the second point, you think your Shadow might get a little irked if you call him up to send him off to a class on the very first day of what is SUPPOSED to be your vacation.
Which is the third reason. You're supposed to be taking a break from your usual overwhelming schedule, and calling up your not-evil twin so that you can do more work is not relaxing.
You thank the masters for their time, ask for directions to the anatomy class, and then turn to dismiss Elder Terok-
"At least let me exit the dojo, first," the Goron grumbles, as he reaches for his sturdy walking stick.
You open your mouth to ask if it wouldn't be easier on the floor for the Elder's weight to just disappear instead of walking out, but respect for a teacher and caution around a grumpy Goron have you holding your tongue.
It should be fine, though. Koron's still holding that Spell of Augmentation to reinforce the wood.
-and after he's exchanged half-bows of respect with your hosts, follow him outside.
"Are we done?" Koron asks as the two of you emerge. "Please say we're done."
"Yes, yes," Terok sighs, feet coming down on stone tiles which certainly do not creak or shift under his weight. "We're done."
"Oh, thank Farore..."
You dismiss the pair and then head out yourself.
As you follow the directions across the School's grounds, you consider what you were told about the anatomy class possibly being too advanced for you.
If it's a matter of information that you haven't learned yet, there's not a lot you can really do about it: mental enhancement spells generally don't give you new knowledge, instead making it easier to recall what you already know and see how it connects to other details; and the Spell to Bestow Insight doesn't give someone more than a modicum of information, with that requiring the caster to actually know said information themselves. You also don't have access to any textbooks you could use Scholar's Touch on, and none of your other Divination spells seem relevant.
The Spell to Know the Enemy WOULD be useful if you were about to go into a fight, but all jokes aside, school and teachers are not the enemy, and you would really rather not try to think of them as such. Especially not this bunch.
Anyway, if you can't address your lack of preliminary education for this subject, you can try to make up for it with raw brainpower!
That's the spirit! Use that brain-muscle!
Heh; "brain muscle." That's never going to not be funny.
That's a matter of opinion...
A bit of ki to activate Brain Enhancement, a little psychic energy to turn on Mental Enhancement... which you'll save for the start of class, seeing as how the technique should just be able to last for the full hour that way, and then some Extended ritual castings of Fox's Cunning and Owl's Wisdom.
As it happens, you don't get lost on your way to class; the building where it's being held is the largest one on the grounds, a two-story structure - or maybe four, if you count the visible rooftop garden and the likelihood of another basement kitted out for training - which stands on the opposite side of the courtyard from the guest dorm where you're staying, rising up behind two more residential buildings. There are half a dozen or so classroom-sized chambers on each of the two standard floors, which definitely reinforces the impression that you're at a school, but the layout is very straightforward, and there's a helpful map at the front door besides.
You're heading upstairs, to room 2-3, and as you pass some of the classrooms, you think you spot the math lesson and the literature class that were mentioned - though the latter is being held in a library rather than a more conventional classroom.
As you head upstairs and pass the first couple of classrooms, you notice that the students gathered here are all older than you by several years, mid-teens at the least and leaning more towards twenty-ish on average.
From a certain perspective, you're not going to be the youngest person in this class, but the OLDEST - including the teacher. Heck, even if you can't consciously remember all of Ganondorf's life experiences that you've dreamed about thus far, you've probably glimpsed enough of his multiple and extended lifetimes to account for more years than have been lived by the entire class put together.
So, yeah, you think you can handle being the only PHYSICALLY underage individual in class.
Whether the rest of the class can handle YOU is another matter, and one that's up to them to decide.
And so when you reach room 2-3 a moment later, you enter confidently, your head up and your stride unbroken.
The class has a large whiteboard at the front, a podium off to the far left - not quite in the corner - for the teacher, and five rows of steadily elevated seating instead of freestanding desks. Placed front and center are three life-sized dummies: one is a simple skeleton; the second has most of the internal organs exposed, and also rather... colorful; and the last one displays the musculature, the muscle groups modest but sufficiently well-defined so as to be visible even from the back of the room.
There are still five or six minutes left before class begins, but you think that either the School of Five Elements (or this class's assigned teacher) emphasizes the belief that to be early is to be on time, the students have come to the conclusion that they need to be early all on their own, or there just isn't a whole lot to distract and delay the from getting to class, because there's almost twenty people in the room ahead of you. As the other classrooms on this floor suggested, not one of them is any less than five years your elder, and most are your seniors by close to a full decade.
While your entrance doesn't prompt anything so dramatic as a hush, several people are either looking your way when you enter or glance in your direction shortly thereafter, and you see some surprised blinks, double-takes, and other reactions of surprise. These responses draw attention from other students who weren't paying you any attention - a number of them were engaged in conversations - and in short order, you have the entire class paying attention.
"Are you sure you have the right class?" one of the guys in the room asks, his tone neither unkind nor condescending.
"This is Room 2-3, and the anatomy lesson, right?" you return.
"It is," he replies with a nod.
"Then, yes, this is the class I wanted to sit in on."
"...have you studied human anatomy before?"
"I know some first aid," you answer, as you head for an open seat-
"-and I've picked up quite a bit about the anatomy of monsters and demons in my studies," you continue, "but human anatomy, not so much. Well, not unless you count UNDEAD human anatomy, but I don't."
Even when you're dealing with a bog-standard zombie made from a fresh corpse, too much about the body changes with the transition to undeath. Fatigue, pain, and blood loss stop being issues, most levels of physical injury below dismemberment or decapitation are likewise less than effective, and a host of forces and effects that would debilitate, injure, or kill most living creatures just don't work right, if at all. And when you get into more advanced forms of undeath, the ones that start introducing inhuman essences and altering the very form of the body... well.
"Why are you studying the undead at thirteen?" another student asks. "Or is that some kind of numerology thing?"
"He already mentioned that his hometown has a vampire problem during second breakfast," a third, slightly older guy observes. "Keep up, will you?"
You nod to the third guy, and are just considering reminding the other one that you're not yet ten when the teacher bustles into the room. He's somewhere around thirty and wearing clothes that are more "modern business casual" style than the "martial arts chic" which seems to be the dominant look around the School, although you note that the cut of his outfit doesn't appear to impede his movements. Heading to the podium, he sets down a carrying case, takes out a book and a clipboard with several pages of notes on it, and then looks around, counting heads and writing down what you assume are names on one of his sheets.
The instructor pauses when he turns to you. "Mr. Harris, was it?"
"Yes, sir."
He just nods and makes another note. A couple more students have arrived by this point, but after they've taken their seats, the instructor doesn't wait any longer to begin the lesson.
Although grabbing one of the remaining window seats is tempting, you decide that you would rather not risk getting distracted by the view. You've been cautioned that the material covered in this class is liable to be difficult for you to keep up with, and you're going to be receiving a certain amount of attention from the students on top of that - and perhaps the instructor as well - due to the novelty of your presence. You think you can deal with people staring at your back, nudging you, or talking while you're trying to follow the lesson, but doing all of that while also trying not to look out the window might be pushing.
Best to reduce what elements of potential distraction you can.
Which is why you pick a seat that's front and center, where you'll have the easiest time seeing the displays and reading the board, no difficulty hearing the teacher, and neighbors most likely to stay quiet, lest they invite instructorial displeasure.
As a bonus, the seat you pick ends up with only one person sitting next to you, this being a young woman who looks like she might be a high school senior, if she hasn't already graduated. She acknowledges your presence with a polite nod, and even asks if you want to borrow a textbook - there was apparently a bit of assigned reading from the last class, which, obviously, you haven't done.
Not that she SAYS that, or even lets on that she might be thinking it, but it's pretty obvious.
You murmur a quick, "Thank you," to the young lady as you accept the book. "What was the reading assignment?"
"Pages forty-three to fifty," she replies quietly.
You nod and open the book with one hand, frowning as the Chinese characters inside fail to make any sense-?
...oh, right. The Spell of Tongues only applies to SPOKEN language.
You quickly cast the Spell to Comprehend Languages to take care of that issue.
"What was that?" your neighbor wonders.
"Just dealing with the language barrier," you reply, as you move on to casting the Spell of Scholar's Touch.
You finish the second spell shortly after you find the assigned pages - part of chapter two, you note in passing - and pause for a moment to assimilate the information that flows into your mind. Your neighbor wasn't exactly being noisy before, but she suddenly falls entirely silent, clearly having noticed the visual manifestation of the spell - the soft glow that briefly surrounds the textbook, highlighting the words on the open pages (and every other word in the book).
...
Okay, you're starting to see why the masters thought this course might be too advanced for you. Even just magically skimming the contents, you see plenty of terminology that a typical elementary school education doesn't prepare someone for - not all on its own, at least - which makes it difficult to make sense of a fair amount of the knowledge that you just absorbed.
It's not ENTIRELY unintelligible, but there are definitely some things you just aren't getting.
Which isn't the same thing as saying you learned nothing from it.
Gained Anatomy F
Gained Anthropology E
...is Ki Reading a thing, do you think?
Letting Scholar's Touch lapse, you focus your ki as you start reading the assigned section, trying to speed up your progress, enhance your comprehension, or both.
...
You're not noticing any changes in your progress, despite the expenditure of a non-trivial chunk of ki. Does that mean there is no book-related "Ki Reading" technique to develop, or are you just not doing it right?
...
Actually, considering that the enhanced literacy you're attempting to pursue should be centered on your neurological processes, could your Brain Enhancement or your still-active Ki Enhancement be getting in the way? Or maybe the mental enhancement buffs? Either by doing the same sort of job better than a rudimentary, "I made it up just now" skill possibly could, or merely by preventing the lesser ability from taking effect?
Something to consider later, when you don't have quite so many mind-affecting powers active and aren't trying to cram in an assignment right before class!
On that note, being unprepared for class is a strange new experience for you, who have always made a point to finish your homework before. You have to say, you don't care for the feeling, and you make a mental note to keep on as you have been doing with your studies when the next school year rolls around.
You're only a couple of pages into the assigned reading when the teacher clears his throat and begins the lesson.
Deciding that it's best to give the instructor your full attention, you leave the book laying open at your current page and move it slightly away from you on the desk, a physical sign of your intent and interest.
If it turns out that you can't follow what's being said, you can try reading again. It's not like your Spell to Comprehend Languages is going to lapse before class is over.
And so, the lesson gets underway.
...
Regrettably, it soon becomes apparent that you will not, in fact, be learning the Touch of Death in today's lesson, nor any of its various relatives. You'd suspected as much from the relaxed atmosphere of your fellow students, and your brief perusal of the contents of the textbook reinforced the notion, but this confirms it.
Perhaps that's the ADVANCED anatomy class...?
What Instructor Chen IS covering today is the sort of material you might expect to find being taught in high school regarding the physical structure of the human body and how the different parts work together. What you'd read of the material and what you're hearing now has a distinctly introductory air to it, and when you glance at your immediate neighbor, she seems a little... not bored, exactly, but like she already knows the material.
Maybe she's studied this subject in regular school, and this part of the class is mostly a review for her?
Peering in the other direction, you see that the people across the aisle from you, both of them in their mid-teens, are somewhat more invested in the lecture, suggesting that they HAVEN'T studied anatomy before.
For as mundane as the material is, however, there's a certain martial aspect to how it's presented, such as when Instructor Chen notes that, "This is why, if you hit someone HERE, it won't do much, whereas if you hit them right HERE..."
You hear some murmurs of agreement, likely from those who've actually hit people in those locations, and a couple of people shifting uncomfortably in their seats - possible victims of the same.
As the hour passes, you do end up reading through the assigned section, as well as some more of the book besides. You're learning SOMETHING, but you're definitely missing too much of the foundational material to get the most of the class.
On the other hand, you have a better understanding of why certain locations on the human body are off-limits when sparring, and also why they're valid targets in a serious fight.
Gained Anatomy F (Plus)
Do you have any questions, comments, or dialogues you'd like to pose during this class, or after it?
As the rest of the class start packing their things away, getting up to leave or come speak with the instructor, or just turning to their friends to chat, you close your borrowed textbook and slide it back to its owner.
"Thank you for the loan, Miss...?"
"Li Fang."
You nod. "Alex Harris. Oh, and if you were worried about any side-effects from that spell I cast on your book-"
"The thought HAD crossed my mind," she admits.
"-I can tell you that I've used the Spell of Scholar's Touch on books my family owns a number of times, without any damage. Even the residual energy of the spell fades after the first minute or so."
Miss Li takes that in with a thoughtful frown and a slow nod. "What does it do, exactly?"
You explain how the spell is intended to allow the caster to absorb the information from multiple books in a very short span of time: someone who's just learned it can only read one book, albeit in the span of about six seconds; but a skilled user might manage half a dozen volumes in half a minute, provided they didn't get distracted by all the information and lose the spell; and true masters could read a score of books with one casting.
"That sounds unfairly useful," Miss Li remarks.
"It has its limits," you admit. "The spell doesn't give you perfect recall of the information you absorb with it, and it doesn't trigger any 'eureka' moments, it just gives you the memory of having read the book once."
"...so, more help for reviews or emergencies, than for serious study and assignments?" she concludes.
"Pretty much."
...
"It still seems unfairly useful," she says after a moment, shaking her head as she tucks her textbook into a bag with the rest of her class materials.
You focus on the older girl for a moment, considering suggesting that she learn, but a quick read of her aura puts paid to any such ideas. Miss Li isn't devoid of magical potential, but she's definitely not a sorcerer by nature, and has no meaningful aptitude for learned sorcery or wizardry that you can detect. She's likewise lacking any particular divine affinities, which doesn't really leave any avenues for learning the Spell of Scholar's Touch that wouldn't involve several years' worth of work. Given her age and the fact that she's already training in the martial arts - you can sense the ki aura easily enough - you doubt she has time to take on another course of study.
"Maybe there's a ki-based equivalent, somewhere?"
"Maybe," Miss Li replies, looking thoughtful once more. "I haven't heard of one, but then again, I haven't asked the librarians about it-"
"There's a library?" you ask abruptly, suddenly very interested.
"There are two, actually," she replies with a knowing and sympathetic smile. "At least, as long as you're not counting personal collections...?"
You consider that, and waggle your left hand back and forth uncertainly. "Depends on the size," you venture.
"Fair enough. But as far as PUBLIC collections go, the school has two. One is just next door." She half-turns in her seat and points to the windows, or more accurately, to the building visible through them. It's another two-story structure, somewhat smaller in its other dimensions than the one you're currently in, with what you think is a covered walkway connecting it to this building - so maybe it's an annex rather than an entirely separate edifice? "The other is in the central building, next to the ceremonial dojo and main office."
"Are there any differences between them?" you ask.
"This one" - Miss Li indicates the nearer building - "is meant for general use. It has all the reference materials necessary for our classes, plus a generous selection of leisure reading, both fiction and non. The contents of the other library are heavily focused on the history of the school: a big part of it is records of students, instructors, and masters, both current and past; but it's also got original copies of books and scrolls written by members of our school or about the wider Five Elements Style. Most of them can't be checked out without a master's permission."
"Basically the restricted section, then?" you summarize.
She nods and gets to her feet, slinging her bag on one shoulder. "Sorry to talk and run," Miss Li says, "but I have another class to be getting to."
"Don't let me keep you, then," you reply, waving for her to go. "And thanks, again."
"You're welcome."
With Miss Li off, you wait a minute to see if there's an opening to speak with Instructor Chen, and if anybody else is going to try and talk with you. When the former proves to be the case and the latter does not, you get up to talk to the man.
"How did you find the class, Mr. Harris?" he greets you.
"I'm not going to lie, sir, a Third Grade education did NOT adequately prepare me for this class."
Chen laughs. "I would expect not!"
You inquire if there's a more fundamental class that would help bring you up to speed on the subject, but are told that this IS the School's introductory anatomy course; the information you're looking for would normally be covered in high-school biology - over the course of several months or a year, depending on the school - so there's no quick and easy way for you to play catch-up.
He does list off a few books that you could look into to get a better handle on the terminology and basics, but even with your magical speed-reading-
"Yes, I did hear your explanation to Miss Li," he admits.
"Ki-enhanced hearing?"
Instructor Chen just smiles.
-just reading the books probably isn't going to be enough.
Thanking the instructor for his time, you...
...do something else.
You've just been told that there is a fair-sized library right next door, a collection of books touching upon multiple subjects considered relevant for the studies of a school of martial artists, and nobody thought to tell you about it before this.
You'll be having words with Lu-sensei about that later, but in the meantime, how can you NOT investigate this surprise book repository?
Leaving Class 2-3, you head to the end of the hall - which isn't as crowded as the halls of Sunnydale Elementary when classes let out for recess or lunch, but is still a bit busy - and make a right towards the library building-slash-annex, only to come to a halt as you realize that the hallway ahead of you makes another right-hand turn up ahead, instead of continuing straight on. There's a fire exit off to your left, tucked into its own little alcove that keeps it out of the flow of traffic without actually concealing it, but nothing that connects the building you're in to the one you want to go to.
As you turn about and head for the stairwell, you dig into your pocket and pull out the second of the Leatherbound Books you got from Ambrose. Flipping open to a blank page and keeping one eye on the hallway around you and the people in it, you begin casting the Spell of Page-Bound Epiphany-
"What's that kid doing?"
"Is his book GLOWING?"
-focusing on the topic of "biological terminology relevant to human anatomy." You're a little unsure if that's too general a definition for the terms of this spell, but as the page before you and some of the ones following it fill in with information, you guess otherwise, and begin reading.
...
As the spell fades a minute later, you frown. While Page-Bound Epiphany technically worked, the information that you got out of it was still a bit too random and disconnected to do you much good. Maybe if you'd focused on, say, "biological terminology relevant to the anatomy of the human knee," you'd have done better, but as it was, the scattershot nature of the spell meant that you went from reading about the knee (in Chinese) one moment to studying the shoulder (in Japanese) the next, and from there to the ventral cavity and the contents thereof (English). It didn't really do you any favors trying to make sense of this stuff.
Which is, once again, not to say that it was useless - but you suspect that if you didn't still have those mental buffs in place, it'd be a different story.
Gained Anatomy F (Plus) (Plus)
Gained Anthropology E (Plus)
Closing the book, you put it away-
"Where did he-?"
"Hidden Weapons Technique!?"
-and continue on course for the rear of the ground floor. Here, you do find an exit heading in the desired direction, and from there it's a short walk to the library.
Incidentally, the connecting path between the two buildings proves to be a colonnade, rather than a completely enclosed walkway. It leads to another entryway like you saw in the dining hall, where people can change out wet or dirty shoes for clean indoor ones, hang up coats, and leave behind bags; all of this seems to take up about half of the near corner of the building.
Once you're in the library proper, you look around. The ground floor has a pretty straightforward layout, one large room with the card catalogue, librarian's office, record room, and - judging by the signs - a bathroom and stairs to the second level forming an island at the center, with the check-out counter and book return wrapped halfway around one side. Relative to that, you've entered the lower right. Most of the rest of the space that you can see from here is given over to row upon row of bookshelves and carousels, spaced out far enough from one another and the walls - which are lined with additional shelves, where they don't have windows - that two people could walk past one another without having to squeeze or sidestep. Each of the windows that you can see has a small sitting area consisting of a few chairs, some large cushions, and a table or two, with a couple of potted plants for atmosphere.
Well, then.
The main thing you'd expect to find in this library that you wouldn't find in most other libraries would be information about ki techniques, so that's what you decide to look for first. Searching around, the only adults you see who are definitely librarians - as opposed to adult students, of which you spot at least three - are both busy, one helping the first of four students to check out books, the other making a phonecall while consulting a computer in the office.
Still, you step up to the help desk and proceed to wait.
...
"Be with you in just a minute," the guy checking books out assures you with an apologetic tone.
"It's fine."
...
Maybe you should have checked out the card catalogue? At least then, you'd have the sense of doing-
"How can I help you?" the lady who was in the office asks, having finished her call and come to the assistance of her co-worker.
You explain that it's your first visit to their library, and you were wondering what they had in the way of information on ki techniques.
The librarian nods. "We have an extensive selection of books on foundational theory and basic exercises, which are available to all students."
Score!
"We also keep a similar range of books on intermediate topics, but those require permission from a master, instructor, or assistant instructor before they can be checked out."
...minus a few points?
"I'll need a name and the books you were interested in," the lady says, moving over to a desktop computer just behind the counter.
Permission is electronic?
"We're trying to get it there," comes the reply. "Some of the masters and instructors still insist on giving out written slips or showing up in person, but others have found this to be a lot more convenient."
"'Leaves more time for meditating,' as Master Ng put it," her co-worker notes as he moves past, en route to the return box.
You nod-
!
-and then frown, because the two librarians seem more amused by that remark than you would have expected. Plus, you know Master Ng is apparently prone to pulling pranks on people...
As for the permission thing, you aren't sure if Lu-sensei has given you clearance to check anything out, or indeed if any of the other masters may have. You're leaning towards "no," but then again, you've been separated from your master for the better part of three hours, and he was close to the main office for the bulk of that time, so who knows?
You give your name, and ask after-
Ask what's so amusing.
On the off-chance that the guy who tried to pull one over on the entire School by not telling them Lu-sensei was coming back for a visit had another "amusing" ploy in the works, you decide you'd better ask.
"Oh, it's nothing like that," the lady librarian assures you, when you express your concerns. "It's just... well, what's the first image that comes to mind when you think 'master martial artist'?"
Lu-sensei, of course - which is to say, a little bald wrinkly smiling man.
She nods at your explanation. "And what's the first image that comes to mind when you think 'skilled video game player'?"
...not the first one, that's for sure. Is she saying that Master Ng is a gamer?
"I have heard it said that he walked into a pinball arcade in the Sixties and never truly left, merely adapting his skills as they updated the machines around him," comes the reply. "Perhaps that is an exaggeration, but Master Ng DOES own a collection of handheld and console gaming systems, which he loans out to students and dorms as rewards for good class performance."
Competition must be fierce.
"To the annoyance of more than one of the other masters," the lady agrees.
"Rumor has it that Master Ng has developed a whole branch of the Five Elements Style entirely for playing video games," the man emptying the return box out chimes in. "Nobody's ever gotten a straight answer out of him on the subject, but it IS known that he's figured out how to meditate while playing certain titles."
...which explains why he likes having more time TO meditate.
It costs you nothing to ask after the books you're most interested in, and even if it turns out that you're not in the School's system yet and/or haven't been cleared to check out those particular texts, well, at least you'll know it - and will also know to pester Lu-sensei on the matter accordingly.
The librarian nods and types in your name, as well as the topics you're trying to find.
...
"I'm sorry," she says a moment later, "but you don't appear to have been entered into the system yet."
You shrug, not particularly surprised or bothered by that. You DID just get here today, and Lu-sensei was bascially in a meeting for most of the time that he wasn't with you.
...actually, now that you think on the matter, you have to stop and ask the librarian when, exactly, the School of Five Elements started tracking permission this way.
"We've been working on it for the last three years, now," she replies.
Ah. You know that Lu-sensei hasn't been back to Taiwan in at least that long, so it's possible that he isn't aware of the shift to a "paperless permission system," or at least wouldn't have thought of it.
As you expected, while you aren't allowed to access any of the School's books on intermediate-level ki techniques and training methods, there's no issue with you checking out some of the introductory books. The librarian prints out a list of recommended volumes on the subjects of Ki Control, Ki Enhancement, and Ki Generation, and directs you to the back of the first floor to look for them.
Taking the list, you thank her for her help and go on your way-
!
-only to catch yourself as you remember something.
"Another question?" the librarian asks.
"Yes, I was wondering what the policy on making copies was?"
"We have a photocopier, and using it on unrestricted books is allowed, but you have to pay for the copies out of your own pocket," comes the reply. "Printing complete copies is only permitted for texts that either explicitly allow it, like study guides, or which are old enough for copyright to have expired - assuming they ever had any."
Drat.
"Is it possible to learn this power meditation technique?"
The words are no sooner out of your mouth than you feel like you just dodged a bullet, for some reason.
The librarians shake their heads in unison.
"It's been tried," the guy replies, "but there's a lot of obstacles in the way. Most of the younger students who're interested in learning the trick aren't that great at basic meditation, and most of our local zen masters aren't interested in video games - or at least not THAT interested."
"And as mentioned," the lady adds, "even Master Ng can only meditate to certain games, most of which I'm given to understand are either older titles or fairly simple in nature, if not both. Most of the more recent games apparently have too many distractions or require too much input."
You nod slowly, because you can see how that might be an issue.
At the same time, you have to wonder - is this difficulty a sign that Master Ng's video game meditation is ultimately a dead-end on the tree of ki techniques, a one-off trick with no practical applications or future growth? Or is it just an indication that it's still a work in progress, with its underlying mechanics not yet perfected?
There's no real way to be sure, at this point.
Given your recent windfall, you really aren't worried about the cost of a few sheets of paper, especially not when you have a freshly blank Conjured Book and a couple of Leatherbound Books that you can copy information into, or when you could conjure entirely new blank books without violating the masters' request to keep your spellcasting within certain limits.
And why would you let a little thing like mundane copyright laws stop you from acquiring mystical lore? It's not like you haven't stolen acquired a few less-than-legal copies of books in the past.
For the moment, you decide to focus on the topic of Ki Generation. Of the six major categories of ki techniques, it's the one that you've developed the least, in part because of the risks associated with mucking around with your own internal energy flows even when you DO know what you're doing - and in this instance, you kind of don't - but also because it's just difficult to push yourself hard enough to grow your reserves or your recovery the natural way.
There are downsides of having more power than you know what to do with, and of reaching lofty peaks of ability so quickly...
I'm not seeing them.
Following the directions you were given and checking the list of titles - specifically, their associated filing numbers - against the ones around you. Eventually, you track down three different books on your chosen subject, and quickly apply Scholar's Touch to get an idea of the contents.
The first work is more of a booklet than an actual book, and it's definitely introductory, the sort of thing most kids your age would be given to help explain the concept of Ki Generation to them. You doubt there's anything in there that you don't already know, but you might as well make a copy of it - it's not a copyrighted work.
The other two titles, proper books, both register as a touch more advanced. Though the quick summaries provided by your spell don't give up the full details, one of them seems to go more in-depth about Ki Generation specifically, while the other has a wider focus, discussing techniques derived from the basic form.
Basics first, you figure, taking the book on fundamental Ki Generation down from the shelf.
Gained "Roots of the Volcano"
The title alone is pleasing to your Dinnite sensibilities; from what your use of Scholar's Touch told you, the author was evidently familiar with a metaphor that compared the growth of a ki-user's reserves to that of a mountain, but found that concept too narrow and limiting.
You can see where he was coming from. A typical mountain is largely an aspect of Elemental Earth, with some incidental influence from Water and Air depending on its height and the local environment. A volcano, on the other hand, is Earth and Fire from the outset, its eruptions directly impact the Air and Water, and depending on how well it's monitored, it can come as a very GREAT Surprise - all of which make the use of a volcanic metaphor for ki cultivation an eminently suitable one for the School of Five Elements.
Here's hoping that a more in-depth reading will turn up additional insights!
Since you're checking this volume out, you don't need to risk getting caught duplicating it in the library; you can wait until after you've read it and determined if it's worth keeping a copy of.
As you consider the book on Ki Generation techniques, a certain hesitation creeps up on you. Call it respect for another scholar's work, call it a belated self-reminder that you ARE trying to take a vacation and as such shouldn't be overloading on research materials on your first day, call it a desire to review the basics in your chosen book before you start looking at (slightly) more advanced material - whatever the reason, you decide to leave the third book uncopied for now.
You can always come back and check it out after you're done reading Roots of the Volcano.
That said, you get down that introductory pamphlet, take out your Conjured Book, and duck into the aisle as you gather energy for that "Ritual of Photocopying" that Shadow Alex came up with. It's only a fifth-circle spell, so it squeaks in under the masters' requested limit - but after a moment's thought, you adjust the ritual's formula so that the effect is only fourth-circle.
After all, when your Shadow was describing the ritual's effects, he did say that the pages in the book he was copying flew by so fast that he was worried he might have damaged them. While that turned out not to be the case, this little booklet is visibly older and more worn than your magically-sourced tome, so some restraint is probably a good idea. Not only would it avoid damaging the original copy, it should be quieter as well, and thus less likely to draw attention your way.
Over the four minutes it takes you to complete the ritual, several people walk past the ends of the aisle, but upon seeing you with an open book in one hand - and the booklet resting atop that - hearing you "reading out loud," and not sensing the "pressure" that normally accompanies any build-up of magical energy thanks to your Mind Blank spell and personal mana control, most of them just nod and leave you to your business.
One person DOES come upon you in the last minute of the ritual, which is when the targets of the magic start to glow and project various arcane symbols and structures around themselves. The boy, a few years your elder, just stares in silence for a long moment before raising his hands in surrender, turning around, and walking away.
...
Shrugging, you finish your ritual, copy the contents of the booklet, and spend a minute after that comparing the original to the print-out in your Conjured Book.
All in all, it looks good, and you return the original to its place on the shelf.
Gained "Ki and You, Part Six: Generation (Copy)"
You can check out one more book, if you wish.
Uncertain of what exactly to focus on, you end up locating most of the books whose titles the librarian printed out for you and adjusting them where they sit on the shelves, so that each is protruding well past the relatively neatly-ordered row of the other books. Once you've done that - and you have to move between a few aisles to account for all of them - you break out the Spell of Scholar's Touch again and move quickly down the rows, tapping the books as you go to try and get a better idea of what's in them and which texts would yield the most benefit after a deeper read.
It takes a few minutes and two separate, partly for the number of books involved, but more because you're trying not to download too much information into your brain in one go. You're not terribly worried about harming yourself - the spell has solid safeguards for that kind of thing - but cramming in so much that you accidentally scramble or lose some of the information is still a possibility.
Eventually, you narrow the possibilities down to a more reasonable four books.
The first of these is on Ki Control techniques. It talked about the foundational skill, of course, and it also mentioned the Ki Concealment technique that you've already learned and polished to a similarly high degree; you don't expect to learn much about either skill after a more detailed perusal - and quite possibly nothing at all about pure Ki Control - but Ki Overload was mentioned as well, and might see some improvement. There were a couple of other techniques besides, though curiously, nothing that looked like your Ki Filtration...?
The second volume discusses the field of Ki Enhancement. Once again, you expect to see no advancement to your understanding of the foundational ability, nor to your Body Flicker, but several of the other skills you've cultivated in this area - Ki Armor, Ki Strike, Sensory Boost, and Substitution, to be specific - stood out in your arcane summary.
The third volume isn't specific to any of the major branches of ki use as you know them. Rather, it seems to be a sort of cross-disciplinary look at various techniques, breaking down a few skills associated with each of the six fields and showing how they're affected by one's skill in the "unrelated" areas of ki prowess. The book reads like a cautionary tale for new students - and a reminder for older ones - that the foundational divisions among ki abilities are a construct of the mortal mind rather than a consequence of some cosmic principle. None of them exist in isolation from the rest.
The fourth volume is a book you weren't quite sure belonged in this section when you read the title, and which you still have misgivings about even after a quick, magical perusal. It's basically a book of practical jokes, and how ki-use can be incorporated into them.
Also, do you wish to make a copy of one or more of these books?
You figure that you are pretty well-off as far as Ki Control techniques go, particularly the foundational skill and Ki Concealment. Additional information on the wider field would be nice, but arguably isn't necessary at this time.
The book on Ki Enhancement is more tempting, as you know a greater number of derivative techniques in this field, most of which could use shoring up. That said, most of those lesser skills are either situational, have effects that are easily covered for by your highly developed Ki Enhancement technique OR by some magical equivalent, or just wouldn't be particularly impressive even with additional study.
Saying that you aren't tempted by the book on ki-assisted pranks would be a lie, but for the sake of peace in the School, you should probably pass on that one.
That leaves the analytical tome, whose cross-disciplinary nature is rather intriguing.
Gained The Illusion of Separation
Of course, even if you're only checking out the one book from this lot, you can still copy the others before you go. Making a copy of The Illusion can wait until later, whereas of the other titles, the book on Ki Enhancement was the most appealing, so you decide to start with that one.
The process goes more smoothly than your copying of the introductory booklet, with fewer people going past you and none of them stopping to stare.
Pleased with that, you reach for the book on pranks next. It's closer, and like you thought earlier, the book on Ki Control probably doesn't have THAT much to teach you anyway.
You're about halfway through copying this text when the SAME GUY walks around one of the bookcases, stops, and stares at the once-again-glowing Book in your hand.
/ What are the odds? / a part of you wonders.
Distantly, you register a brief, distracted inquiry from Briar.
Once again, the ill-timed interruptor backs up the way he came, leaving you to your business, but you have to wonder if this is a sign - and if so, what it portends.
Gained Criminal E (Plus) (Plus) (Plus)
Gained Frame Work
Gained Hitting the Funny Bone
One of the consequences of being as versed in the mysteries of the arcane as you are is that you know that signs and portents aren't just superstitious mumbo-jumbo, but things that actually exist. The trick with such things is deciphering which of the many and varied occurrences that transpire in your presence or exert an influence upon your activities from a distance are genuine omens, and which are so much background noise, and without resorting to certain spells, making a correct determination can be difficult at the best of times.
That said, the old adage about things happening in threes is a good rule of thumb for any follower of the Golden Goddesses, and since you've had two near-misses in the library thus far, you figure you'd be better served not chancing another one.
As such, you close up your copied texts, pocket them, and return the originals to their places on the shelves. Then you tuck the two books you'll actually be checking out under one arm and make your way back to the front counter, where you wait in line behind a couple of older students before your turn comes up.
"Welcome back," the male librarian greets you. "Did you find what you were looking for?"
"And then some," you agree. "You can probably expect to see me in and out of here all this week."
He grins and nods in understanding. "I get you. If it helps, we've got some reading areas set aside on all four floors-"
"Basement and rooftop?" you guess.
"-exactly, and a few of the indoor ones are isolated, for people who prefer to read in private."
Oooh, good to know. "Do you allow people to borrow books off the shelves to read in the building?" you ask. Because if they do, you'd have a much better way of copying texts available to you...
"We do, but if you're going to be using one of the quiet rooms, you still have to check the books you're taking with the front desk," comes the reply, in company with a slight wince. "We used to have a more casual policy, but then a few books got damaged, and the head librarian insisted on stricter rules."
You'll keep that in mind.
Anyway, with your books checked out-
"You have one week to return or renew."
More than enough time.
-what do you want to do now?
Your internal, Sunnydale-aligned clock tells you that it's starting to get late, though it's still a couple of hours before midnight, which is when you normally call it a day and go to sleep. On the other hand, it's getting close to the time of "night" where you might curl up with a good book for a while - and with the prospect of new reading areas to explore, you decide to adapt your usual schedule to your current circumstances.
It doesn't take you too long to find a place to sit, specifically one of the windowed areas with chairs and potted plants that you spotted earlier. There's nobody currently using this one, so you claim it in the name of Harris and settle in to read one of your selected works.
How long do you want to stay here?
As you're getting out your chosen book, the idea of once again trying to develop that "Ki Reading" technique comes to you. Given its previous failure, you probably should dismiss one or more of the mental enhancement effects you have going before you give that a try. The Ki Enhancement technique you've had quietly running since the sparring session earlier is just about done for anyway, and your Brain Enhancement isn't far behind it, so there's no real loss to dropping them. The two extended magical buffs, on the other hand...
Since you'll be in public view, it's probably for the best that you read one of the books you actually checked out of the library, just in case anybody gets curious enough to ask questions - or for that matter, to keep people from GETTING that interested in the first place.
The Leatherbound Books you got from Ambrose have a wonderfully arcane aesthetic, but they're also quite distinct from the volumes you've seen in this library thus far, which just seems like it would spark curiosity among a prospective audience.
Given the choice between a book that's split between theory and exercises and one that was focused almost entirely on theory, you decide that it makes the most sense to read The Illusion.
You figure that an hour is a reasonable amount of time to spend taking a closer look at the technical breakdowns the author did, and as for the enhancement spells... meh, you'll leave them for now. If they interfere with your attempts to speed up your reading, then you'll know that for future reference, and have the option of removing them and trying again. And if they DON'T interfere, the mental enhancements would undoubtedly help you to assimilate the information more readily anyway.
Picking a seat In an actual chair.
There are two chairs in this little nook, neither of which is occupied. Both have metal frames, but one of them has a rounded seat shaped out of plastic, while the other has... you hesitate to call them "cushions," given how thin they are, but the actual seat and back of the chair are at least padded.
Considering that you're planning to sit for an hour, you take the softer-looking chair, you settle in and begin to read.
For the sake of Science, you go through the first chapter of the book without calling on your ki, establishing a baseline for how difficult the contents are to follow and how quickly you get it done. The answer to the former proves to be, "Not difficult at all," a mix of your natural intellect, the enhancements, and the author's writing style making for an easy enough read - about sixteen minutes, by the clock you can see over the main desk.
Incidentally, the first chapter is largely just a review of the major ki disciplines and how they interact with each other on a one-to-one basis. Nothing too technical, and certainly nothing new, but it's presented in an engaging manner that manages to be accessible without sounding like it's talking down to you - a distinct plus.
You go back to the first page and try to focus a small amount of your ki on your eyes and brain in a manner that won't accidentally trigger Brain Enhancement or Ki Sight. When you have something going - even if you're not sure what - you start reading, trying to hold the effect until the very end of the chapter, and once you're there, you look up at the clock again, to see if you finished any faster.
...
You seem to have taken fifteen minutes this time, but was that because your rudimentary technique worked, or because you'd already gone through this chapter?
Try reading the second chapter with ki assistance, and then re-read it without.
Your technique-in-progress feels like it's running low on power, so you let it lapse for a moment before renewing it. Once it's stable, you start reading the second chapter.
This part of the book discusses the basic Ki Enhancement Technique, which it describes as the most common skill for an aspiring ki adept to express when they finally break through, at least in the author's experience. Ki Perception is apparently the next most frequent first-time use, followed by Ki Infusion and Ki Projection, which have about equal rates of manifestation.
That pattern, as the text lays out, has to do with how most people who awaken their ki do so under pressure, be it training under a master's eye in the dojo, in the middle of a serious fight, or after weeks and months and years of struggling towards the goal and watching their peers leave them behind. These are the sorts of circumstances that tend to make a person want to hit something, hard, and that plays to Ki Enhancement's strengths.
Of course, sometimes what a person needs isn't to hit, but to avoid BEING hit - and while that is also something Ki Enhancement can do, some people don't try to move faster, instead seeking to figure out what their opponent is going to do next, before they actually do it. THAT is where Ki Perception comes in.
Ki Infusion and Ki Projection are typically more of the "I want to hit X" formula, with the addenda, "with my favorite weapon" or "but they're way over there and I don't have anything to throw or shoot at them" - although cases of people really, desperately wanting a light or a way to start a fire are also known tipping points. They're less common because it's inherently more difficult for most people to run ki through something that isn't themselves, to project it beyond themselves, or to give it the aspect of another kind of energy. Different kinds of difficulty, to be sure, but the amount of effort required is similar.
As for the other two fundamental techniques, the argument can be made - and the book does so - that Ki Control is actually EVERYONE'S first ki technique, because if you couldn't make your ki move in the first place, nothing would ever happen. That point having been acknowledged, however, the author adds that there's a difference between being able to get your ki to do something in a moment of strong emotional and physical effort - which may also be helped along by a master who's spent weeks and months carefully poking and prodding at your aura to help get the energy moving - and being able to do so whenever you wish. THAT is when Ki Control properly begins, or so the claim is made, and the only times it is genuinely someone's first expression of ki is in cases where the trainee had been heavily focused on internal exercises - meditation, visualization, breath control, that sort of thing.
Ki Generation is by far the least common of the six foundational skills to be someone's first conscious use of ki, or at least the one that's hardest to notice, seeing as how its effects are entirely internal. The author wasn't aware of anyone who'd ever awoken their ki through this skill, but he theorized that it would take a combination of relatively detailed knowledge of ki theory, the meditative exercises that normally lead to Ki Control, and the more physical exercises which typically spark the common manifestations, but WITHOUT the combative elements that are the usual tipping point for the latter.
An unusual combination, and difficult to achieve, to say the least.
In any case, the book's breakdown of Ki Enhancement points out how each of the other foundational skills plays a role in their counterpart's functionality: Ki Control for the ability to call up, direct, and maintain the technique; Ki Perception for knowing where your energy is needed, where it's actually going, and where it must NOT go, on pain of... well, pain; Ki Projection for the glowing auras that not-infrequently manifest with powerful and/or unskilled uses of the ability; Ki Infusion to help one's clothing or other objects you interact with to endure the increase in the force they're being exposed to - or, conversely, to sabotage that durability, making things MORE likely to break; and Ki Generation for diverting your body's production of energy from replenishing your reserves to helping to maintain the technique instead.
Some of this stuff is obvious, of course, and already well-known to you, but other bits were subtle enough that you didn't really think about them until they were laid out like this. It'll be interesting to see what the other chapters have to say about those topics... but as you reach the end of the second chapter, you stop to check the clock.
Eighteen minutes to finish Chapter Two with both magical boosts and a rudimentary ki technique? If that's the case, you'll be running a little over your self-imposed deadline by the time you've finished the re-read, but that's fine.
Letting your ki relax and the technique dissipate, you flip back to the start of the second chapter and begin again.
...
When you check the clock again, you frown, seeing that it's been seventeen minutes, which suggests that either the technique IS working (if barely) and you are ALSO reading a bit faster the second time through, or else it's just the increased familiarity making the rereads go quicker.
You'll have to test without your spells later. In the meantime...
As you pocket your book and start towards the exit, a thought occurs that has you turning about and heading back to the main desk. There's only one person in line when you get there this time, and they seem to be halfway through getting their books checked out - four in total, you note; clearly, being a recognized student with instructorial permission has its benefits - so your wait is not overly long.
"Back again?" the lady librarian says, half in greeting and half in surprise. "Did you have a question, or did you want to make an early return?"
"The former," you reply. "I was wondering where you - which is to say, the library as a whole - got your books? Specifically, the ones that deal with ki and related topics. I've tried finding sources to build up my library at home, but..."
"But it's kind of hard to find reliable information on the open market?" she guesses, not without a note of understanding and shared frustration.
You just nod.
"Well, leaving aside the historical texts and the direct works of members of the School of Five Elements-"
You nod again, recalling Miss Li's mention of these.
"-we have a few contacts with private printing concerns. There's an affiliated monastery... well, somewhere in Tibet, that traditionally prints up a full run of the core materials for every branch school, and the First School does a limited run of copies of Grandmaster Wen's original writings every few years-"
You abruptly recall your master's quoting of the Grandmaster's denial of having written any of what's in The Fifth Element, or of having said half of it.
The lady librarian blinks. "What was that?"
You explain how your master gave you a copy of The Fifth Element last year-
Almost exactly a year, now that you think about it, as he gave you the book just before last Independence Day.
-and how he quoted Grandmaster Wen's purported denial of having written any or said all of what's in the book.
The woman's eyes bulge in shock. "A-are you telling me that The Fifth Element, one of the oldest, most popular, and most frequently quoted texts produced by the School of Five Elements, may be a case of misattributed references published under a false name? That it could, in fact, be a case of PLAGIARISM?"
...
...maybe? It's a book of pithy sayings and fortune cookie wisdoms, you aren't sure if that counts as academic-
"And the masters KNEW about this!?"
...
...again, maybe? You weren't sure if Lu-sensei was having you on or being completely seri- okay, no, you KNOW he wasn't being completely serious, what you're unsure of is whether he was entirely FACTUAL about his claim.
"WELL," the young lady huffs. "I see that am going to have to do something about THAT... but first, to finish answering your question about books on ki, most of our sources are fairly selective about who they'll sell to. Some don't want their identities or their access to genuine information on the supernatural to be too widely known, others - like the First School or the monks that I mentioned - will only provide their services to someone they feel has earned it, and others are just prejudiced."
You frown at the vehemence of that last bit. "How so?"
"Oh, there's a few who either refuse to sell to anyone that's not a man of pure Chinese heritage going back at least five generations on both sides, or else just like to give anyone who doesn't meet their high personal standards grief in the process," she replies sourly. "Arbitrarily inflated prices, certain books that are 'unfortunately' never in stock in the right translation, orders that get delayed for months, lost in the system, or mixed up - that sort of thing."
...you see.
"Even with the actually PROFESSIONAL printers, orders can be a bit hit-or-miss," the librarian continues. "It's not that big a market, in the end, particularly with the efforts to keep certain bits of knowledge from spreading too widely - or even at all - so their printing runs tend to be on the smaller side compared to most mundane literature. Since they're not about to fire up a press just to print individual copies, if you place an order for a title that isn't still in stock, you can end up waiting months for the next edition to come out."
Understandable, if annoying.
"Given all of that," she says, with an air of summation, "the library keeps lists of currently or soon-to-be available titles on hand, and takes orders from members of the School who are interested in getting their own copies. But..."
"...but, as I'm not a member of THIS branch of the School, I'll need to talk to my master about that," you conclude.
She nods. "Sorry."
"No, no, I get it. Thank you for answering."
"You're welcome. And now," the librarian says, as she places her hands on the counter and LEAPS over it, "if you'll excuse me, I have to go see if my boss is knowingly aiding and abetting academic fraud."
And off she goes.
Her co-worker, who was just coming back from what you're assuming was the matter of returning some books to their spots on the shelves, watches the lady make her exit with some puzzlement.
"What's going on?" he asks you.
"Have you heard of The Fifth Element...?"
"Of course," the guy answers, nodding.
"Well, apparently, and I'm just repeating what I was told, which is also what I told her..."
You recount the explanation.
Unlike his co-worker, this librarian takes the information onboard with a, "Huh. Is that a fact?"
"It was suggested to me as such," you reiterate. "Whether it's true or not, I can't be entirely sure, but the POSSIBILITY of it being so seemed to upset the lady."
"She's taken academic integrity very seriously for as long as I've known her," he admits, nodding.
"...and you... don't?" you venture, slightly puzzled by this calm reaction, at least when it's taken in contrast to the other librarian's willingness to jump over the counter and hunt someone down for answers when the matter came up.
"Oh, I do," he assures you. "I wouldn't be working in the library otherwise; the masters don't trust these books to just anyone, after all."
Score one for Ki Perception, you suspect.
"It's just that Mei's ALSO always been a bit quick to judge things by modern values," the man continues, "without giving quite as much consideration as she probably should to the fact that people living in different eras and different parts of the world often had very different values and practices than we do. A text as old as The Fifth Element not being entirely original in its content or properly crediting its sources really wouldn't be that unusual."
You suppose there is that.
Well, here's hoping you haven't accidentally started a literary crusade, or something.
Taking your leave of the library, you retrieve your shoes and then set out, deciding to follow the familiar bond back to your partner, who has apparently gone to the nearby dorm.
It makes for a short walk, which you're not complaining about, and not only is the door unlocked, but nobody gives you more than a second glance upon entering.
This dormitory is laid out in a similar manner to the one where you're staying, but it seems newer in a lot of ways, ranging from the brighter, fresher colors of the paint and a general lack of scuff marks to the presence of electronics and furnishings that must have been produced within the last couple of years, as opposed to a decade or two ago.
And then of course, there is the presence of people. The vast majority are kids around your age or a few years older, with a couple of outliers in either direction.
"Hey, New Guy!" somebody half-greets, half-orders you. "Come tell us about your friend the meat-eater!"
"I want to hear about the fangs!"
You recognize some faces and voices from brunch.
Eh, why not?
"Alright," you agree, moving over to the nearest open seat. "I suppose I have time to share ONE story of carnivory and boomeranging..."
"Wait, what?"
"Boomerangs?"
"Is your friend Australian?"
"No, he's from Antarctica-"
"What?"
"You're making that up."
"Get out! For real?"
You settle in and begin to speak of your first encounter with Sokka, which includes some expository background regarding his presence at the World Tournament, and how he failed to make it through the preliminary round due to encountering a wild vampire princess-
"WHAT."
-who later invited the both of you and a few of your other fellow competitors to her birthday.
"No, seriously, you ARE making this up, right?"
When Briar wanders by a few minutes later, you've just finished telling about Sokka's early exploits in the Shuzen dining room and that enthusiastic walk you and your little band of intrepid explorers took through Vampire Country.
"Carrying tales, Alex?"
"I did leave them hanging by mentioning Sokka earlier," you return. "What brings you by?"
"I noticed you'd entered the building and then just sort of stopped," your partner replies with a shrug. "I got curious."
You nod, noting as you do so that while Cordy and Xiuying are both present, along with a fourth girl you don't recognize, Amy is absent. Did she go back to your dorm?
Since you're in the middle of a story, you get back to it, going over that spar you had where Sokka kept trying to grapple you-
"He was good enough at it that I ended up asking him if he was part-squid," you relate, "and his reply was that he might be part-bear through his paternal grandmother's side of the family."
"He MIGHT be?"
"I mean, the Water Tribes are shapeshifters, and their non-human forms are pretty diverse, besides," you note. "With that in mind, I have to imagine that figuring out exactly how much of one's appearance and personal abilities were linked to one specific ancestor would either be really, really obvious, or really, really difficult. In Sokka's case, his monster form is kind of like a bipedal orca-"
"Explains the teeth, anyway."
"-and while he does have claws, he doesn't have the fur or the general build of a bear."
There are some nods, some thoughtful expressions, and some that are just bewildered.
"I thought there weren't any bears at the South Pole," a voice comments. "Or... bear people..."
"The Water Tribes move around a lot, and a pretty long way," you state simply.
-which ended with you catapulting him into one of the walls.
"Which was NOT the first time a fight ended that way for Sokka on that visit," you add. "By that point, he said he was either getting numb to it or toughening up in the process, we weren't really sure which-"
Some of the older students in your audience shudder.
You're just going to let those reactions pass unremarked.
There have been a few times when Lu-sensei has spoken of training techniques that would get him in trouble with parents and other Concerned Citizens, were he to employ them on his younger students - or even just in general.
You were mostly joking when you suggested that Sokka had started using repeated collisions with the walls of Castle Shuzen as toughness training, but upon seeing the unsettled reactions of some of your seniors in the Five Elements Style, you are worried that there may be more truth to that "humorous" notion than you realized.
You decide not to think about or remark upon it.
What will you do after concluding the Story of Sokka?
Having reached the end of your tale-
"Aw, really?"
"Just ONE more story?"
-you rise from the couch, making your apologies.
"I'm still on California time," you explain, "and by that clock, it's somewhere past ten at night."
That gets a few nods of understanding, though it doesn't completely dispel the disappointment in some faces.
"So teleportation doesn't help with jet lag?" somebody asks.
"In my experience, it can make things worse," you admit frankly. "I mean, if you know the right spell, you can travel from somewhere that it's currently noon straight to somewhere it's midnight, all in one instant."
"Or you can hop between three or four different time zones several times in the course of one day," Briar adds.
"What she said," you agree, waving towards your partner.
"...yeah, I can see how that would be difficult," the guy admits.
Cordelia leaves the dorm with you, even though she's on Island Time and, in her own words, "Can make it until evening, anyway." She does want to check in and see what the rest of your group is doing, though.
As you expected, when you get back to the guest dorm, you find Larry has awakened from his magically assisted nap, feeling exceptionally well-rested after his hour-long nap.
Restful Blankets have their uses.
Amy is also here, incidentally, trying to get in a nap of her own. She didn't borrow any of the other Restful Blankets you brought, but she did use a Sleep Spell.
Anyway, after Cordy and Larry wish you a nice nap and then go off in search of something to do, Briar shrinks down to her usual size and hops into her tiny bed and fairy-sized Restful Blanket, while you tuck yourself in under your own version.
And then, out comes the Sleep Spell.
It's currently shy of half-past two in the afternoon.
Before returning to your room, you request of your companions that you be awoken in two hours, if you aren't already up by then. That will give you plenty of rest and still leave you an hour or so before the six o'clock supper.
You can easily fill that time with a few exercises, you muse, as you settle back into bed and close your eyes, mana moving as you shape the Spell of Sleep. Nothing too strenuous, just some polish for you underdeveloped ki skills...
And then the magic takes effect, and conscious thought goes away for a while.
...
Ho? What's this?
And then unconscious thought kicks in, as - at some point in your arcanely-assisted afternoon nap - you find yourself walking in your dreamscape. It has taken the vaguely familiar form of a Hyrulean-style mansion of legendary proportions and perplexity, rooms and halls full of statuary and paintings both monstrous and mortal, all doing their best only to move when you aren't looking, and none of them entirely succeeding. Briar's fairy-sized bed goes floating by, the sleep-faded glow of her presence under the blanket further washed out by the aura emanating from the sheet itself, a restful shade of deep blue.
The house itself is quiet, but you can hear voices coming from somewhere outside: one voice that calls out commands rendered unintelligible by the walls; and a great many other voices that answer those commands in unison, the sheer number of them making their replies easy to understand as variations on, "Yes, Master!" or even just kiais.
Some of the artworks seem intrigued by the noise, constantly trying to crane around to look and/or listen in the direction the sounds of a martial arts class are coming from; others are distinctly unsettled by them, enough so that they forget themselves and shudder, flex fingers as they grip their weapons, or blow small, nervous gouts of flame, gas, or bubbles in anticipation of an attack even as you look on.
Whether they expect to be delivering or receiving that assault, you can't say. If they're wise, it'll be both.
The house seems oddly empty compared to your last visit, but vague reminiscences of maids and fairies fall to the wayside as the sounds of training in process bring your well-trained warrior's instincts to the fore. Tossing aside the blankets and kung fu rolling out of bed, you make for the door.
In passing, you state to the room in general, "I'll handle the noise. The rest of you, work on your acts - you're supposed to be statues, for Din's sake!"
That remark earns some sheepish expressions and bowed heads.
"None of that, now. Solid stone, immovable statues! I don't want to see so much as a tentacle twitching when I'm looking, you got it?"
There is a collective thump of feet as the statues stand... not at attention, but in their proper artistic poses, most of which are menacing.
"That's better."
Adjusting your uniform as you cross the entrance hall, you open the door and leap outside with a cry of challenge-
"Hiiiiyaa-wuh?"
-which fades into awkwardness as several things happen.
First of all, upon leaving your personal dream-realm for the wider plane, you begin to properly dreamwalk, gaining the associated level of not-quite-conscious-ness.
The unplanned shift suggests that this happens automatically whenever you "step outside," as it were, which is a good thing to know. You don't think you'd care to go wandering this plane while still half-asleep...
Second, you realize that despite how close all those voices sounded, there is not a single soul other than yourself standing outside your house-slash-gallery-slash-temple. (Briar is still snoozing away inside.) Nor is there a training ground of any sort - it's all the same mist-filled space that you saw the last time you went dreamwalking.
Third, you can still hear the training session going on. Despite the fact that the walls of your mindscape and what they represent are no longer in your way, the voices don't sound any clearer or closer than they were before you opened the door.
Fourth, and somewhat overriding all the other factors, it turns out that you can jump REALLY HIGH in a dream - or out of one, as the case may be!
Once you've sorted out your unexpected altitude issue, what do you want to do?
"Briar, I can fly!"
And sure enough, no sooner has the thought crossed your mind - or the words, your lips - than you find that you can.
You spend a minute just zooming about, enjoying the flight and the added novelty of being able to do so without using magic-
*Whoosh*
*Vroooom*
*Nnneeaoowwww*
-and if there are airplane noises involved, nobody else is around to provide later testimony on the subject.
Eventually, you make like a helicopter and come to a halt in mid-air. The sounds of a training class are still ongoing, apparently unaffected by your aerial acrobatics, but even with the increased altitude and all the zipping around you just did, you couldn't and still can't make out a direction for them.
Thinking on it a moment, you decide not to wander into the mists of the dream-plane with such uncertain guidance, and instead gather your mental power and take a few slow, steadying breaths.
If you cannot go to the class, perhaps the answer is to bring the class to you.
With that thought, you reach out and pull-!
...
And pull-!
...
And pull-?
...
Nothing. No shadows lurching closer through the mists, no indication that the instructor's barked commands or the class's collective reply were getting closer, and no sudden interruption or silence, either.
Is it that your psychic strength and/or skills are insufficient to the task you set them, or is there something else going on that you're unaware of? Given that you've previously managed to make small stone roads in this place using little more than willpower AND gotten them to link your dreamscape to those of other dreamers, you...
...
Hmmm. There's a thought.
It's currently mid-afternoon in Taiwan, probably somewhere past three o'clock and/or getting on towards four. There wouldn't exactly be a lot of people asleep right now, which could account for the wider dreamscape's lack of reaction to your efforts... though it still doesn't explain what's going on with all the training noises.
Alright, if being clever didn't work, you'll just have to seek out the source of the sounds the old-fashioned way, by following them back to their point of origin.
While flying.
And in a dream.
...
Actually, that probably IS an old-fashioned way, isn't it? At least, you could definitely see some ancient cave-sorcerer or shaman using dream-travel to track down a target that had proven too elusive to be found in the waking world. They would have had to be fairly powerful to make it work, but not impossibly so...
Anyway, after being sure to get solid bearings on the manor-museum that is your personal dreamscape and on your partner still snoozing inside, you venture forth as if moving straight ahead from the door. The sparkling mist-shrouded landscape rolls by beneath you as you fly along, covering considerably more ground in a short span of time than you during your previous excursion into the dream plane. Of course, this also means that you reach the point where it's starting to get difficult to see your point of origin much sooner, but with the familiar bond providing additional guidance, you could venture deeper into the mists without fear of getting lost.
For the moment, however, you hold off on doing that, instead taking advantage of your airspeed to make a wide circle around your dreamscape, seeking a spot along this perimeter where the sounds of exertion grow louder or fainter, or where you start to see martial artists in the mist.
...
It'll happen any minute now, you're sure.
...
ANY minute now.
...
In the absence of other dreamscapes, it's difficult to distinguish one point in the dream plane from any other, but after a while, you've been flying in a rightwards-leaning arc for long enough that you must have completed a circle. Nowhere in the entire flight did it feel like you were getting closer to or farther from the kung fu class that seems to be in session.
What the heck is going on here?
On a side note, you DID find a dreamscape, one which was ringed by a half-built temple-like structure, the architecture a mix of Hyrulean maze-shrine, classical Greek temple, and modern American residential, with a bit extra that looked like the blandly inoffensive design of Sunnydale Elementary. There were a couple of blue-white torches burning steadily out front, and vines bearing a great many delicate flowers and just as many sharp thorns climbed up the exterior.
That'll be Amy's dream, you're sure, although the weirdly mixed-up nature of the basic structure is puzzling.
In any case, with the aerial search of your immediate vicinity on the dream plane having failed, what do you want to do next?
Since you're already in the psychic neighborhood, you figure that you may as well go say hi to Amy.
Quite aside from not wanting this trip to dreamland to end up being completely unproductive, you're kind of curious to see what form her unconscious self takes...
After a minute's flight, you've come close enough to Amy's dreamscape that you begin slowing down and descending, ultimately making a neat two-point landing about four paces away from the blue-burning torches and the half-built, vine-wrapped pillars that they stand before, which appear to be the designated entrance to your friend's mental structure.
Granted, from the apparently incomplete nature of the external architecture, there's half a dozen other ways you could probably slip inside, but you aren't about to do that. It's not just a question of good manners; you're aware that the symbolism of sneaking into somebody else's mindscape could affect how your visit is perceived and how it plays out.
And as a general rule, sneaking into a witch's residence is not a good idea.
Standing in front of the entrance, you consider how to make contact with Amy. When you tried this with Kahlua, you were able to take advantage of Merlot's presence and have him serve as a messenger, his nature as a familiar giving him implicit permission to enter his mistress's domain. Like your friendly vampire princess, Amy has a familiar, but you aren't seeing Argos the dachshund anywhere.
It makes sense. You didn't see the puppy around when you picked Amy up from her folks, and it's possible he wasn't on the trip with them. Wherever Argos is staying at the moment, Taiwan is more than far enough away for most of the benefits of a familiar bond to be rendered non-functional.
In the absence of a helpful canine guide, you're left with other methods of getting Amy's attention, and before resorting to physical or magical intrusion, you decide to go with the simplest and most symbolic approach to visiting another person's residence.
That is to say, you take a couple of steps forward, reach out with one hand, and rap your knuckles against a patch of stone that the vines - and especially their thorns - did not cover. The report is faint but clear, and you wait a moment to see if there's a response.
...
Nothing seems to be happening, so you try again, this time calling out, "Hello, Amy! Can you hear me?"
...
You're about to give up on this method-
*Creeeeaaaak*
-when what you'd thought was a section of the stone wall on the far side of the pillared portal slides open, vines and all. The opening of this overgrown door does not reveal Amy on the other side, nor any sort of servant entity or magical manifestation masquerading as such, but when you reach out with your psychic abilities a bit, you can detect a fuzzy sense of permission and welcome.
You're going to take that as a sign that Amy heard you, but is still mostly asleep.
Is there anything you want to do before you enter Amy's dreamscape?
The notion of leaving your shoes at the door of Amy's dreamscape occurs to you, but is dismissed for a few reasons.
For one thing, you've already worn shoes into Kahlua's mindscape, and nothing came of it.
For another, given the issues you had with making and holding changes to your dream-attire that time, you aren't entirely certain that you COULD leave your shoes behind.
On a third point, you aren't completely sure what separating a part of your dream-self from the rest and then leaving it behind would entail, mystically speaking, and thus aren't comfortable with the idea. You don't THINK that there are shoe-stealing dream-creatures running around in the mist, but you can't say for certain that there AREN'T, nor are you sure of what they might or might not be able to do with your dream-shoes.
And finally, you would rather not be padding around in dreams in your socks.
Another idea that occurs to you is using your Mental Enhancement technique to augment your dream-self's "voice," but this one goes the same way as the first. You were able to communicate with Kahlua perfectly well, and more to the point, you didn't use any such technique in her dream - you weren't using anything except Mind Blank and Dreamwalking, as a matter of fact, which is pretty much your situation now.
You would rather not risk giving Amy a headache by "shouting" at her from inside her own mind. That seems rude, and potentially hazardous.
Observing to yourself that you definitely need to find a tutor or a book or SOME kind of source on Dreamwalking, you walk up to the doorway, pause at the threshold long enough to wipe your shoes on the welcome mat, and then venture inside.
*Creeeeaaaak*
The door swings shut behind you.
Contrary to the half-built appearance of the exterior, the inside of Amy's dreamscape seems perfectly intact, though at the same time, it still has that irregular mix of influences going on. The foyer you've stepped into is laid out like the entrance to the Madison household back in Sunnydale, with mat, shoe-rack, coat-rack, and a nearby closet, but there are pillars and torches along the walls - half of them Hyrulean in design, half of them Grecian - and those flowering, thorny vines are also present, albeit with pots.
...you aren't sure if plants like that can be grown that way, but as it's a dream, you don't worry too much about it.
Looking down the hall, you see that the resemblance to Amy's family home seems to continue, as does the admixture of foreign influences, but there's no sign of the young witch herself. You call out again, but aside from that vague sense of acknowledgment and welcome, you get no response.
Hm.
Assuming that the layout of the dream-place remains stable, where do you want to look for your friend's subconscious self?
You started your entrance to Amy's dreamscape by treating it the same way you would a polite visit to her house. Having already established that narrative, it would be best to continue it, and thereby encourage the dream to keep rolling in the same direction - as such, you do as you've done in Sunnydale many a time before, when Amy wasn't the one to greet you at the door, and head for the living room to wait.
The architectural split quickly proves to have extended to the furnishings. The carpet has a Hylian design, what should be a couch is instead one of those Greek/Roman/Mediterranean-style recliners, Mr. Madison's armchair and the television are unchanged, and there are Gerudo wall-hangings. The bookcases are a mix of stone, wood, and metal, and their contents include stone tablets, scrolls, archaic tomes, and modern paperbacks in about equal measure.
There doesn't appear to be anyone in the room, so you take a seat on the not-a-couch and settle in to-
!
-start with surprise as a wild Amy appears in her father's chair!
Where a dreaming Kahlua appeared as though dressed for bed, Amy is still wearing the same clothes you last saw her in. Her face is set in the same sort of blank, impassive expression, and since she isn't wearing a sleeping mask, you can see that her eyes are closed. There is something mildly unsettling about that, an impression that is only magnified by the other way in which the sleeper before you differs from the only other person you've met this way before.
Amy is translucent.
"Nice to see through you?"
In the wake of your remark, there is a pause that drags on long enough that you start to think "Ghost Amy" isn't going to respond to it.
Then she exhales with the sort of sigh that a person makes in their sleep, and in a dispassionate tone of voice, says, "Even in my dreams, I can't make him stop punning."
"Goes to show that you know me," you reply. "So, DO you recognize that you're dreaming, or was that just a figure of speech?"
"Yes," comes the prompt reply.
"...that's not a helpful answer, Amy."
A faint smile crosses her lips. "It wasn't supposed to be."
Fair. If a girl can't make jokes inside the semi-privacy of her own head, when can she?
Anyway, given your precedent of trying to keep this dreamwalk symbolically simple and straightforward, you decide to do the obvious thing and ask Amy if she has any idea why her avatar is as spectral as it appears to be, when Kahlua's dream-self seemed solid.
"This is part of a mental defensive technique my mother has been teaching me for a while," Amy replies. "The final form is supposed to create three separate 'gatekeepers' that represent different aspects of the user, and ONLY those aspects. The idea is that you get multiple layers of defense, each one completely different from the others, and none of them adding up to the full 'you'. That way, if something beats one of them, it doesn't get any hints for dealing with the next guardian, and even if all three of them lose, you've still got more left to work with."
...huh.
"I'm guessing being transparent means you're not using the final form of the ability," you state.
Ghost Amy slowly shakes her head.
"How far along are you, then...?"
She shrugs. "As far as I am."
"Okay, still unhelpful, but cool. So, I suppose if I want to talk to All of Amy, I need to find and 'beat' all three guardians?"
She nods.
You nod.
...
"...do I have to fight you, now, or...?"
"It's fine," Amy says, one hand slowly waving away that question-slash-offer. "I know you, and I don't want the headache of dealing with you."
...
There are a couple of ways you could take the latter part of that statement, and from the slight smile, Ghost Amy is well aware of it.
You let it pass and consider where to look next.
Given what you've just been told about Amy's mental defenses, you decide that you can rule out visiting her room for the moment. It's her personal space within the Madison house in the waking world, and thus one of the best locations to look for All of Amy in the dream world, but if you don't "defeat" all three of her guardians first, you could probably wander around in her bedroom all night and never actually find her.
So instead, you make for the study. As the place where the two of you have done a lot of your mutual homework, theoretical magic lessons, and small-scale practical magic lessons together, it feels like a good spot to look for another iteration of Amy's awareness.
Passing a mix of rooms in American, Grecian, and Hyrulean styles-
!
-you pause at the sight of the study's locked door.
How do you know it's locked?
The golden deadbolt is a good clue. By the color and the size of the keyhole - seriously, you could slip a finger in there, if you were so inclined - you are reminded of oh-so-many temple doors, which makes you think, unhappily, that your stories of Hyrule may have had more of an impact on Amy than you realized.
"I don't suppose you have the key?" you ask Ghost Amy.
Her response is a slow, negative shake of her head.
Yeah, you figured. That would have been too easy...
Sighing, you knock on the door.
"Who is it?" Amy's voice asks from the other side of the portal.
"It's Alex, Amy."
"Anyone could say that they're Alex," comes the reply.
"Yes, but how many of those people would be saying it inside your dream?"
There is a pause.
"But if you're really Alex, you'll be able to answer my questions three," Other Amy goes on, almost as if she hadn't heard your reply - and depending on how complete this guardian is, she might not have. Ghost Amy behaved like a normal girl, if a sleepy one, but she also didn't really DO anything to get in your way, so her "program," if you will, may have been focused on building up and maintaining her behavior rather than doing so for any sort of challenge, like Other Amy is presenting you.
As for said challenge...
"Alright," you reply, "I'll bite. What's the first question?"
"How much is a Red Rupee worth?"
...
"Do you want that in silver coins, or Hyrulean Rupees?"
"...um..."
"Because it would be roughly one hundred and sixty silver coins, or twenty Green Rupees."
"Twenty!" Other Amy interrupts, sounding a little less sleepy. "Twenty is correct - but that is only the FIRST question! Two yet remain!"
"Very well," you say, smirking. "Ask your second question, O keeper of the door."
"My second question is this: how many fairies does it take to change a lightbulb?"
"One, as long as she has a partner to do it for her."
"Correct! And finally, the third question..."
You lean forward, listening intently.
"...where, in a temple or dungeon, will you always find a key?"
...
...tricky.
"The last place you look."
...
"That's... not the answer I was looking for," Other Amy replies, even slower and more distracted than seems to be the norm for dream-avatars.
"But is it a valid one?" you press.
"...probably not?" comes the eventual, uncertain reply. "If it was JUST the key you were looking for, then yes, the place where you found it WOULD be the last place you looked - for the KEY. But if you're talking about exploring a dungeon as a WHOLE, then finding the key ISN'T the end, you still have to find and beat the boss and grab whatever treasure they were guarding, which would make THAT the last place you looked."
...
You may have educated your student too well in the arcane mysteries of Hyrule.
"So, am I allowed to guess again?" you ask.
"You may," Other Amy answers, "but be warned: if you guess incorrectly three times, a TERRIBLE fate will befall you!"
"How terrible are we talking, here?"
There's a pretty wide range of possibilities, starting with the petty annoyance of "the door locks itself and you have to go find the actual key," working up through "the floor opens up beneath you," "you are struck by fire, ice, and/or lightning," and/or "suddenly, monsters," and capping out somewhere around "a terrible curse is visited upon thee!"
In the waking world, Amy would not be capable of a lot of that, but in the realm of her own mind, with weeks, months, even years of prep time? You're not going to be against her being able to set up some genuinely scary stuff.
"Ideally, the door would seal itself and you would be dumped into a pit full of monsters, from which there was no escape!" Other Amy replies.
Oooh, going for a combination of dreadful outcomes? Ambitious, but no more so than you would expect of your student!
However...
"'Ideally'?" you repeat.
...
"...all I can really do right now is lock the door," Other Amy admits, sounding almost sheepish.
Ah. Still needs more practice to build up to the big stuff, then.
Well, baby steps...
"In a chest."
"Da-da-da-daaa," Other Amy sings, without the fairy-esque enthusiasm that is required to really sell the performance. "That is the correct answer."
And then, to the sound of a different brief scale of musical notes, the door unlocks and opens, revealing the study to have been converted to the same mix of cultural styles as everything else.
Other Amy, meanwhile, has the same transparent appearance as Ghost Amy, but is dressed distinctly differently, in a smart grey pantsuit over a white blouse. Her hair is tied up in a bun and she's wearing a thin-rimmed pair of glasses over her closed eyes, completing the image of a stereotypical professional librarian, or at least a little girl dressed up as one.
"Congratulations," Librarian Amy says. "You have solved the riddle of the study. One guardian yet remains..."
On that note, where to next?
Although Mrs. Madison has a few spell components, tomes, and enchanted devices tucked away here and there about the house, she keeps the bulk of her magical materials in her workshop, which is located somewhere casual visitors aren't likely to stumble upon it - even before taking locking spells and defensive wards into account.
Where you do most of your arcane work in a portion of your family's basement, Catherine opted for somewhere higher up, and converted almost her entire attic. Due to the slant of the roof and other elements of the Madison house's design, she doesn't get too much more space out of the arrangement than you do out of yours, but against that, she doesn't have to give up a chunk of room to the washer, dryer, and utilities.
There are other trade-offs as well. Working out of a mostly underground room lets you take advantage of the earth around you to muffle the energies of your projects and interfere with outside attempts to spy on you, whether mystical or mundane, yet those defenses work both ways: if you weren't as powerful and as in-tune with the Element of Earth as you are, you might have some trouble using scrying spells out of your workshop; and many other spells meant to affect open areas run into issues when there's a wall or a big chunk of earth in the way.
If you ever get around to casting a holy water rainstorm on Sunnydale, for instance, you probably won't be able to do so from your basement.
Probably.
Lacking a nice protective coating of earth, Mrs. Madison's defenses rely almost entirely on what she can personally conjure, and she has to be mindful of the amount of light and sound - and smell - that various spells and rituals produce unless she wants the neighbors complaining. In exchange, however, it's somewhat easier for her to work scrying spells and other magic meant to reach out and touch a particular target, as a lot of the time, all she would have to do to create a path to her intended recipient would be to open a window. The symbolism of working her magic from somewhere high up adds to that, and it may play into her devotion to Hecate as well, as you are aware that the domain of the Goddess of Witches extends to earth, sea, and sky.
In any case, you turn away from the study and make for the stairs, the two Amys following in your wake as you hike up to the second floor, past the bedrooms, and to the little closet-like space at the end of the hall, where the stairs to the attic-
!
-are missing?
You look at the slanted space where steps and a railing should be running from your current position up to the closed door at the top.
"You took out the stairs?" you ask in flat disbelief. "Seriously, Amy?"
"Eee-hee-hee-hee," an attempt at a witchy cackle drifts down to you, the dreamy lack of enthusiasm once again failing to really sell the delivery. "This is the trial that all who would enter this arcane sanctum must overcome."
You spare the attic door a deadpan expression. You could just fly up there, provided of course that Amy hasn't done anything to this empty stairwell that would prevent it. Climbing is also a potential option, as the alternating wood and stone construction gives you plenty of handholds - again, providing that there aren't any built-in defenses. Given how the "penalties" for failing to answer the questions at the study door weren't active, you might think that there's nothing to worry about here beyond the minor inconvenience of getting up the un-stairwell, but then again, this IS a witchcraft workshop you're trying to reach.
If anywhere in this dream is going to be actively hazardous, THIS is one of the prime contenders.
The door is right there, not ten feet from you, and your ability to Dreamwalk - or Dreamfly? Dreamhover? - is more than sufficient for you to cross such a short distance, which would save you both the time and the annoyance of having to fetch the missing stairs from wherever Amy has thought to hide them. Your only concern here is the possibility of traps or some dream-ward saying "you shall not fly past!"
With that in mind, you focus your will and begin to float forward and upward - but carefully, only at a fraction of the speed you know you can achieve. The proverbial snail's pace is annoying, but it ensures that you won't bump into any of the sides of the shaft as you ascend.
"What are you doing?" Probably-Witch Amy demands from behind the door. "I know you're doing something, I can feel it, and I don't like it."
"He appears to be flying," Librarian Amy replies.
"...that's cheating," Witch Amy protests, without much heat.
"That's Alex," Ghost Amy opines simply.
"Fine," comes the slightly grumpy reply. "If you're going to cheat, then I'll cheat right back. Eee-hee-hee-hee."
You're about halfway up the stairless-well when Witch Amy's retaliation manifests, in the form of groaning and creaking within the structure around you. It's muted at first, with no obvious visual accompaniment, but as you drift ever higher, the noise grows louder, and parts of the walls about you begin to shift and shake-!
"Wow," Witch Amy complains. "This is a lot harder than I thought..."
"Don't pass out in there, now," you tell her. "Or I'll have to slide you down the shaft after I beat your challenge."
"Oh, hey, a slide could be fun- wait, no, I'm not here for fun. You won't beat me so easily, Alex. Eee-hee-hee-hee."
The creaking and shifting intensifies, but you are nearly there!
You would rather not get crushed, forced back down the shaft, or otherwise impeded by whatever Witch Amy is trying to do, and the quickest way to avoid any such outcome is to simply clear this little-t trial.
With that in mind, you touch down on the landing that was left at the top of the gutted staircase and - not letting your flight-potential disperse just yet, as you can feel the floorboards rattling and shifting under your feet - reach out to once again rap your knuckles on a door.
"Knock-knock," you declare.
The shaking and groaning settles down.
"...who's there?" Witch Amy inquires.
"Alex."
"...Alex who?"
"Alex-plain after you open the door."
"Eee-hee-hee-hee."
*Click*
*Creeeeaaaak*
And the attic door swings open, revealing that you choice to call this guardian "Witch Amy" was correct, as she is dressed entirely appropriately for it with the old-fashioned dress and buckled hat. You don't see a broom, and none of Mrs. Madison's magical paraphernalia have been disturbed. Also, for some reason, the sight of a witch standing there with her eyes closed does not strike you as being as peculiar as it was for the other two images.
"You have done well to come this far, traveler," Witch Amy greets you. "Now, all that remains is for you to bring me the other two guardians, that together, we may reveal the path to you."
You frown at Witch Amy.
She waits.
You turn and look back down the slanted shaft to the bottom landing, where the other two Amys are waiting patiently, showing no intention of following you up under their own power.
"Yeah, no." Take Witch Amy down to the other two.
The shaft looks like a perfect slide. Make use of it.
"Wait, wha-!"
Witch Amy manages to muster up a note of genuine surprise and protest as you follow up your denial by grabbing her arm and hauling her out of the attic proper and onto the landing.
"What are you-"
"We have found a witch!" you declare to the pair waiting below. "Shall we slide her?"
Even with their eyes closed, the other two guardians manage to trade glances.
"Ha," Witch Amy declares blandly. "You forget, intruder, that we are all aspects of the same being. My fellow guardians would never betray-"
"I say slide her," Ghost Amy declares, her drowsy tone not quite hiding the note of mischievous amusement.
"What the-?"
"Agreed," Librarian Amy says, nodding as she adjusts her glasses over un-opening eyes. "To the slide with her."
"What is this treacher-?"
"To the slide with you!" you state, giving the baffled witch a nudge-
"-eeeeeee-hee-hee-hee-"
-which sends her down the stairwell as easily as if she were on a playground slide.
"-huh, that WAS kind of fun," the Witch observes, as she comes to a halt at the bottom. "But never mind that, where do you two get off turning on me like that?"
"Petty jealousy," Ghost Amy says easily.
That remark draws everybody's attention.
"Say what?" you ask, just as you were about to take a turn on the stair-slide yourself.
A transparent finger points at the see-through girl in the witch hat. "She gets to dress up, take one of the most important rooms in the house for herself, and set up a trap. THIS one" - the finger jabs at the librarian - "gets a nice outfit we could probably actually wear in public, outside of Halloween and costume parties, and gets the big fancy door and the riddle challenge, and what do I get?"
It's probably intended as a rhetorical question, but you answer: "The living room?"
"Wearing my regular clothes, with no tricks or traps," Ghost Amy agrees with a slightly fiercer nod than normal. "How is that fair? How is that even a defense?"
You were about to answer the first question - specifically, that it wasn't fair - but the second part gets you thinking.
For all that she's a self-avowed novice at this skill and that her two "active" defenses still need a whole lot of work to be effective, Amy does have the foundations of some workable mental protections going with two out of three avatars - so why IS the third one comparatively normal and unprotected?
You can offer a number of speculations on just what is or isn't going on with Ghost Amy's lack of abilities and costume compared to the other guardians, but in the end, that's all they'd be - speculation. You really don't know what's going on with this particular dream avatar, and honestly, there isn't much point in thinking too deeply on it when you can just go to Amy's room and talk to her about it directly.
You make sure to mention that aloud to Ghost Amy, so she'll know your intent ahead of time, just in case she's about to disappear to "summon" All of Amy or fuse with her other selves to re-create her.
The transparent normal girl nods, somewhat more animatedly than you've seen from her for most of the dream, and turns to her counterparts. "On that note... shall we?"
Witch Amy huffs. "I wanted to do this upstairs, like a PROPER ritual, but SOMEBODY had to go and be a brute..."
"Witch up and stop whining," Librarian Amy advises.
Despite the closed-eye glare she spares for her counterpart at that remark, Witch Amy nonetheless takes her place alongside the other two, forming the points of a simple triangle.
As one, they reach out and touch hands.
As one, they disappear in a flash of light, leaving a ball of energy - mental, spiritual, magical, or all of the above and then some - which hovers there for a moment before floating swiftly back down the hall towards Amy's room.
You are in no particularly hurry as you follow the manifest energy, as you can see it for most of the length of its short trip, and are able to sense what's going on pretty clearly after it passes out of your direct line of sight.
When you get close enough to see into Amy's room, there she is, dressed like Ghost Amy was but without the spectral transparency. Her eyes are still closed, though you can see them moving beneath the lids.
Now, were Kahlua's eyes doing that when you visited her dream, and you just didn't notice because of the eye-mask? Or is there something else going on?
"Congratulations on passing all three challenges," All of Amy greets you, her own voice still carrying something of that dreamy tone, but with more energy than any of the guardians managed except when they were obviously excited, angry, or otherwise emotionally invested in their statements. "And thank you for doing so without resorting to force. Now that you're here, what did you want to talk about?"
"Right, so..." you begin, before stopping. "Actually, Amy, would you mind waking up so we can talk more directly?"
There is a pause, during which the young witch frowns.
"I think it could be a real problem for both of us if I woke up while you were still in my head," she says. "Like, the 'why is this other person still in my head?' or 'why are they still unconscious after I woke up?' sort of bad."
...
"...is that sort of thing a serious risk?" you ask with a mix of curiosity and concern. "I mean, is it something your mom has mentioned, in relation to your dream-warding lessons, or...?"
Amy languidly raises one hand and waves it back and forth. "The former was something I read about in one of her books; it was treated as an example of rare and extreme consequences. Mental intruders getting booted out of your mindscape and left to wander around on the Dream or Astral Planes for a while, though? That's something Mom did mention could happen."
...
Well, then. You're glad you learned THAT before you poked into more than two dreamscapes, and you're extra glad that you've got a familiar bond to help you find your way back to your own mind.
Although, if Briar makes a point of waking up to join you on these dream-outings in the future, the bond's utility as an emergency guide home may be compromised...
You shake your head and get back on track. "While I'm glad for the warnings, I wasn't suggesting that you wake up in the real world, just that you become conscious in the dream."
...
"...oh. Um... give me a moment?"
"Sure, sure, take your time."
It takes a few minutes - distinctly longer than Kahlua required, and again, you wonder if this is a difference between vampire and human, between Kahlua and Amy, or what - but eventually, Amy's eyes open-
"Wha-!"
-at which point she falls out of the air, where she'd been floating about an inch off the alternating wooden floorboards and stone tiles.
"Watch that first step," you suggest.
"A little late for that, don't you think?" Amy returns.
You shrug. "I mean, I COULD have mentioned it sooner, but with all the floating I've been doing and the not-exactly-solid versions of you I've seen since I got here, it didn't seem important."
"...yeah, that's fair..." She straightens up. "So, what were your questions, again?"
"Well, first of all, where's the dungeon loot?"
...
"What."
"I mean, you've pretty clearly been taking inspirational cues from stuff you've seen and heard about Hyrulean temples and dungeons and whatnot," you continue, "and I get that this is all very much a work in progress, but if you're going for the genuine experience, there needs to be a big shiny treasure at the end of the maze, you know?"
Amy looks like she's trying to find the words to reply, but can't.
"Oh, and on a related note, one of your dream guardians, the one that looks like the normal you? She was kind of upset at not getting her own special costume or trial to put visitors through. What was the story, there? Have you not had enough time to build her up yet, or is her mundane appearance supposed to be a trick or a trap in its own right?"
"Huh? No, it's not a trick, she's supposed to be the martial artist. Did... that not work?"
Oh.
OH.
Yeah, that WOULD be a "normal" skill that Amy has, wouldn't it? And Ghost Amy DID say she didn't want the "headache of dealing with you" when you suggested a fight, which didn't actually rule out the possibility of her having the ABILITY to fight you... but, still...
Both is good.
It occurs to you that part of Amy's failure to manifest Ghost Amy as Kung Fu Amy may have to do with how she views herself and her various abilities.
Between her maternal heritage and her lessons with you, the younger Madison clearly has no trouble self-identifying as a magic-user in general, or a witch in particular - her attic-dwelling guardian was proof enough of that. Librarian Amy was a bit unusual, costume-wise, but after three years of school and the general social push to do well in class, combined with all the book-learning necessary for the forms of magic she's familiar with, you can see where Amy got the inspiration for a more purely academically focused version of herself.
Martial arts, on the other hand, is a bit less significant to Amy's self-image. You know that she originally signed up for Lu-sensei's class at her mother's insistence, and that mainly as a way to get in shape for cheerleading - which Amy herself wasn't exactly enthused about. Granted, that was a big part of Cordelia's reasoning for signing up as well, but Cordy's taken to the training and demonstrated a genuine talent and appreciation for the Five Elements Style in its own right, not the least because of how it's opened up whole new social arenas for her to establish herself in.
Also, it is helpful in not getting her face eaten, which is always a plus for any Sunnydaler.
Amy, on the other hand, doesn't really share Cordy's enthusiasm for learning how to punch out people and things. She's always been the least physically focused of your close friends, meaning that while she attends Lu-sensei's classes, follows instructions, and does all the recommended training - that's ALL she does. She puts in as much effort as is necessary to (more or less) keep up with the rest of you, and is perfectly happy to bow out of the extra work that you and Cordy put in to be world-class face-punchers before the age of ten.
And you suppose that much is fine and all - even if the nine-year-old boy and ancient warrior-thief parts of you are baffled in equal measure by the idea that somebody could be UN-interested in pursuing a fighting style like this to the limits of their personal ability, the warlock part of you certainly gets why someone would want to spend more time on their magic - but if Amy's planning to use her martial arts skills as one layer of her dream-defenses, then her perspective on those skills and how it limits what her guardian can do has to be addressed.
There are a few ways to do that, the foremost of which would be to get Amy to take her physical training more seriously. While you aren't opposed to this notion, you're aware it's not something that can be done in a hurry, even if Amy were inclined to. It's not just the physical effort that's important, after all, it's the frame of mind - and that can take a long time to change in a positive manner.
But there are some other options she could implement right away, and you go ahead and suggest them.
"If you want that guardian to be a martial artist, how about giving her the uniform of one, or letting her face people in a sparring ring? Either would reinforce the idea of what you want her to be and to do, and both of them together would push that influence further."
"Maybe," Amy replies, "but part of the idea of having her dress normally and meet people in the living room was so that she could catch intruders by surprise - plus, there isn't really anywhere in the house to PUT a sparring mat, much less a whole ring."
Yeah, between the basic needs of a three-person family, Catherine's witchcraft and homemaking, Amy's non-martial interests, and what you've seen of John's hobbies, there's not a lot of free space left in the Madison household.
"Then don't put her INSIDE the house," you suggest, "and don't make it a ring. Make it a courtyard like the one the School of Five Elements has, and dress her up in something that looks fancy but will still let her move and fight."
Amy looks thoughtful at that, and then turns to her bedroom window, frowning with intent. In the waking world, this only gives her a partial view of the Madison family front yard, due to the size of the window and part of the roof being in the way, but as you're within her dreamscape, you aren't surprised that looking through the glass reveals the front of the "house," completely ignoring the architectural bits that should be in the way.
As you watch, the "front yard" shifts about, stone tiles, partial pillars, and bits of greenery rising from the mist, which actually appears to be condensing into the stuff. The space between the outer gate and the door to the house proper expands - and then Amy lets out a breath, and parts of the new construction sink back and dissolve into the fog.
"This is going to take a while," she observes.
You're pretty sure you can't make permanent, semi-permanent, or even particularly long-lasting changes to another person's mind at your current level of proficiency in dreamwalking. You also have to question whether or not doing so would even be a good idea, if you HAD the necessary skill...
That said, maybe you can still help Amy somehow, whether that's by providing the psychic equivalent of an extra pair of hands to hold something steady while she fixes it into place, or just being a source of additional BRAIN MUSCLE to throw into an effort - and if it turns out that you can't help? Lessons will be learned, and impetus to do better gained.
So, you make the offer.
"Worth a shot, I guess," she answers, not sounding any more certain about the idea than you were. "Come on, let's go downstairs first; this'll be easier if we're actually IN the yard..."
True enough. A master of the mental arts could undoubtedly create, alter, reposition, or unmake any portion of their dreamscape from any other portion of it, but for relative novices like yourselves, proximity (or the appearance of it) would be necessary. Doubly so for yourself, being a guest and all.
Once down in the yard, you and Amy spend a few minutes trying to coordinate your dream-shaping.
It does not go great.
For once, you find that you don't particularly outclass a friend when it comes to your skill at manipulating supernatural energy. Your reserves of psychic energy might be greater than Amy's own, due to your inherited memories of Ganondorf - particularly the ones where he was using various spells of Enchantment and other, less purely mind-affecting magics - but your ability to work with that energy directly, without the crutch of spellcraft, is honestly no better than hers, and any advantages you may have in the field of dreamwalking due to (slightly) greater experience with being in other people's minds is largely cancelled out by the advantage Amy holds for being in her own dreamscape.
Indeed, when the two of you try to affect the same aspect of Amy's dream at the same time, you experience a sort of psychic friction that complicates every effort. Sometimes your mental "touch" is too light, and the force of Amy's conscious and subconscious working together deflects or disrupts your attempt to help; at other times, you use too much force, breaking her focus and causing a piece of the modified landscape to fall apart.
Given the difficulty you experience in working with the substance of Amy's mindscape, at one point you try drawing upon the energies of the wider Dream Plane for "raw material," hoping that the more psychically neutral nature of the mist will make it easier for you to contribute, but this quickly proves unworkable. You can make things outside of Amy's mind, you can bring them in, and she can take over maintaining them from you with much less issue than the two of you experience trying to work with her mind-matter, but the moment that at least one of you isn't focusing on these dream-spun items being what they are, they unravel into mist and dissipate. Amy can only keep so many things in her mind at one time, and while that number proves to be relatively high, as you close in on the triple-digits you start seeing a lot of fading colors, warped edges, and outright deformations among the added matter.
It's not an uninstructive experience, it's just not a particularly productive one, in the most literal sense.
Gained Dreamwalking D (Plus) (Plus) (Plus)
Gained Mental Control D (Plus) (Plus) (Plus)
Gained Mental Power D (Plus)
Eventually, you agree that it isn't working, and end your attempt to assist. Amy will just have to build up her dreamscape on her own, possibly after talking to her mother.
Given the chunk of time and mental power you both just spent, you figure you should probably let Amy get back to her nap and return to your own.
Is there anything else you want to discuss with her while you're here?
Since you're (kind of) on the subject of martial arts, you ask Amy how she sees herself fighting in the future: close range, medium range, or long range; armored or unarmored; that sort of thing.
She blinks. "What brought this up?"
"Innocent curiosity," you assure her, not wanting to possibly give away future gift ideas.
From Amy's suspicious squint-
"Riiiight..."
-and wry remark, she doesn't believe that claim, but she also doesn't press you on it.
"Honestly, Alex, I haven't given it a lot of thought. I'm not really interested in fighting if I don't have to, and if I DID have to, I'd rather use magic. I'm just better at it."
...
The martial artist part of you winces at that statement, but the rest of you - sorcerer, Chosen One, and now novice psychic - can't really argue that a person SHOULDN'T wield the forces of the cosmos in their own defense, or just in general, without coming across as a bit of a hypocrite.
Maybe you'll have to make her a better focusing wand, a rod that can function as a focus while also being sturdy enough to serve as a mace, or maybe a staff with a shrinking enchantment, so that she can have it close to hand in public...?
Leaving that aside for now, you wish Amy a pleasant rest of her nap-
"How do I get back to sleep like this, anyway?"
"Try laying down on your bed and closing your eyes, but DON'T think about waking up."
-and venture back out into the mists.
The kung fu training calls are still going on, and you catch Amy glancing out into the dream plane.
"Where is that coming from, anyway?" she wonders.
"I honestly don't know," you reply. "I tried looking around for the source earlier, but I didn't find anything except your dreamscape."
"Huh. Weird."
"No ideas?" you ask.
"I mean, it MIGHT have something to do with the fact that we went to sleep in a kung fu academy that's been around for a century or more, but I'm not sure," your friend replies, shaking her head. "Mom and her books say that areas where powerfully magical or emotional events have happened can affect the Dream Plane-"
That bears out your run-ins with quasi-Dracula at the Shuzen place.
"-but I got the impression that created other dreamscapes, not... background noise." She shrugs. "Anyway, I'm going back to bed. Don't wander into any nightmares or anything, okay?"
In response to that claim, Amy gives you the sort of unimpressed look you're used to getting from Briar.
"Not that I would intentionally go near or enter one," you add smoothly.
"Uh-huh."
Amy does not appear to be convinced of that claim.
You have to wonder: Has she been taking notes from Briar?
Although you hate to leave the Mystery of the Invisible Kung Fu Class unsolved, you can't spend your entire nap drifting around the Dream Plane like this. Even if you did ask to be woken up after two hours - the equivalent of a full night's sleep, thanks to your Restful Blanket - you must have used up at least a quarter of that time exploring the local mists and Amy's dreamscape. Factor in how long it will take for your reserves to settle after this, and you've probably lost a third to half of your potential recovery time already.
Considering your offer to provide magical demonstrations for some of the School's classes in the coming week, as well as some of your other plans, intentions, and half-formed notions, you figure that keeping your mana reserves as close to topped off as you can manage is probably a good idea.
Besides, if Amy's guess about the origins of the ongoing training noises is accurate, then they probably aren't going anywhere. You can always investigate again tonight, or any other time you catch a few Zs during your stay.
...well, maybe more than a FEW, it does take a while to get deep enough into your sleep-cycle to begin properly dreaming, which you're pretty sure is a prerequisite for dreamwalking...
Anyway, all things considered, you decide to emulate Amy and go back to sleep for a while. Returning to your dreamscape, you walk past the statues-
*Shift*
"I saw that. Bad Octorok."
-check to make sure Briar is still asleep-
"Zzzz... berries, yay..."
-and then hop into your own dream-bed and lie back with your eyes closed, thinking of comfort, and rest, and sleep...
...
And then you open your eyes in the waking world, feeling... more rested than you were when you first lay down for a nap. Lu-sensei is in the dorm with you, standing at ease within arm's reach of your bed.
"Good evening, Alex," he greets you. "Rest well?"
"Pretty well," you reply as you sit up. A quick check of your reserves confirms that they're mostly back to full, although your psychic power is lagging behind. Then again, considering how much of it you used up trying to help Amy build up her dreamscape, it's not unexpected... "What time is it?" you ask, dismissing those speculations.
"Getting on towards four-thirty."
Leaving you plenty of time to finish waking up, do some light exercises, and have a quick shower before the six o'clock supper, as planned.
Although...
"Is Amy up?" you ask, as you rise from your bed.
"She is," your teacher replies. "Why do you ask?"
"I had the strangest dream... well, no, not the strangest, but she was in it." Go talk to Amy.
Lu-sensei gives you an odd sort of look after you've spoken. "Out of curiosity, did you see anyone else you know in this dream?"
"Just Briar, but she slept through the whole thing."
"Huh, wuzzat?" your partner mumbles, as she turns over in her tiny bed.
"But no curious doppelgangers?" your master inquires further. "No little dogs or flying monkeys?"
"I mean, there were all the moving monster statues, but Amy left Argos-" And then your waking mind catches up with Lu-sensei's last statement, and you sigh. "I was not dreaming I was in the Land of Oz, Sensei."
He smirks briefly. "Just making sure. So, I take it this was a magic dream, or perhaps a spiritual one?"
"More psychic, really..." You begin, as you get out of bed.
You hold off on the full explanation until you've caught up with Amy and made sure she is sufficiently awake to partake in the dream-discussion. Your witch friend turns out to have a slightly better recollection of her dreamwalking encounter with you than your vampire friend did of hers, although not tremendously so, which requires some re-telling and clarification on your part - but since you were planning to do that for your teacher anyway, it's not a huge deal.
You do make sure to check with Amy that she's okay discussing her possibly-a-family secret dream-defense, as well as the contents of her own dreamscape, before actually describing them, of course.
For his part, Lu Tze is pleased to know that Mrs. Madison has access to an arcane method for protecting one's sleeping mind, and a little concerned that he's only now finding out about it. As he explains it, he knows some techniques in that area himself, but he can't responsibly teach them to most of his students in Sunnydale.
"In the process of taking control of your own dreamscape and shaping it according to your conscious will, you unavoidably weaken some of your natural, subconscious defenses," your master explains. "You can eventually build them back up and make them stronger than they originally were, but in the interim, your mind is more vulnerable, and that's just a terrible idea on the Hellmouth."
"Even if you end up stronger in the long run?" you inquire.
"Stronger against direct attack, maybe, but for however long it takes you to re-establish your original level of psychic resistance - and most people need weeks to months to manage that much - the Hellmouth would be getting its hooks into the deeper parts of your mind, twenty-four hours a day."
Ugh. Yeah, that would be a problem, wouldn't it? Even having wards on your home wouldn't suffice, unless you spent the whole time you were working on your dreamscape shut up in your house - and most people just can't DO that, not for weeks at a stretch. You'd need a ward on yourself, which...
Hang on a minute. Wouldn't Mind Blank do for that? It doesn't keep out the Hellmouth's taint, of course, but the mind-affecting properties of the demonic radiation ARE something the spell should mitigate, if not entirely block.
Before posing a question about that, you ask Amy what her mother's been doing to shield her while she works up her defenses.
"Dream Shield at night-"
Ah, you know that one.
"-and a Lucid Shield by day."
...you don't know that one.
"It's basically a reversed form of Dream Shield," Amy explains. "Shields your mind while you're awake, and if something causes you to fall asleep, the spell tries to force you to wake up."
Sounds useful, if a bit situational. Family spell?
"It's in the Madison Grimoire," she says with a slightly proud smile.
Cool.
Amy nods in response to your first statement, but when you continue, she starts shaking her head.
"You don't think so?"
"Mom would be happy to talk shop, no question," she clarifies. "That's part of the whole witch thing. Trading spells would be mostly okay, as long as the family spells were left out of it, because some of them have binding clauses about who's allowed to learn them, and under what sort of circumstances, and... no."
"Bloodline-locked magic?" you guess.
"A few of the spells she's let me see are, yes," Amy admits, "and the requirements on those... look, I like you well enough, but I am WAY too young to be talking about engagement-"
What.
Lu-sensei starts snickering.
"-and you're powerful enough that Mom was worried any attempts at magical adoption might end with YOU adopting US-"
Wait, when and why were the Madisons discussing adopting you?
Lu-sensei starts laughing openly.
"-and then WE might lose access to the family spells, which... yeah." Amy shakes her head. "As for item-crafting, potion-brewing would be fine, and some of the simpler or more common items, sure - but anything more than that is a little outside her field. Oh, but speaking of magic items, we picked up some stuff at the flea market, and we've been meaning to get you to come around and take a look at a few of the pieces..."
Dangerous, cursed, weird?
"Yes."
Fair.
Even with the amusing note that making the attempt might backfire on them, you're a little unsettled to learn that the Madisons were apparently discussing magically adopting you at all. You have nothing against them personally or as a family - quite the opposite, really - but you're perfectly content with the family you already have, which makes the idea of being separated from them slightly unpleasant.
Granted, they ARE witches, and taking other people's kids is a thing witches do on occasion - and even the genuinely evil ones don't always do it for horrible reasons. Sometimes a witch needs an heir to take over an important task and doesn't have any suitable descendants of her own, like that Witch of Manhattan that Balthazar used to know; in other cases, there's a kid with a gift that isn't getting the training they need; and some witches will just take in children who need a place to go.
Those are the better reasons you can think of for a witch to adopt a kid, and none of them apply in this case, so you ask Amy what line of discussion or confluence of events led to her and her mother talking about this notion to begin with.
You're pretty sure Catherine Madison doesn't have any nefarious motives in mind, but it's always better to be safe than sorry when a witch is involved.
"I was going through the grimoire a while back, looking at the family spells, and I found an adoption ritual," Amy explains. "I asked Mom about it and..."
It turns out that, about a dozen generations back - give or take a few "greats" - one of Amy's ancestors got into a lifelong feud with a member of another witch bloodline. They met as children, and it was hate at first sight, with the two girls spending the next decade or so picking on and at one another, steadily escalating from mean words and childish pranks to spiteful hexes and outright violence. Things reached the point where an actual witch-hunter became involved, the local pitchfork-and-torch-wielding mob was out in force, and even some of the local bump-in-the-night crowd had gotten sufficiently fed up with the goings-on to be willing to throw the responsible parties to the wolves, as it were.
Long story short, both girls ended up stripped of the bulk of their powers while their families had to relocate in a hurry, heading in opposite directions to make sure the rivalry was well and truly ended. After settling in a new community, the disgraced girl's mother began looking for a new student to carry on the traditions and secrets her own daughter had proven herself unworthy of, eventually adopting a local boy who showed some promise for the craft.
When you inquire which of the two siblings was Amy's direct ancestor, she notes that they both were, as one of the boy's great-granddaughters would eventually marry her disgraced great-grandaunt's great-great-grandson.
Amy pauses and counts up the number of "greats" and "grands" in there, before shaking her head and saying, "They were third cousins once removed, anyway."
That's interesting and all, but you don't see how it relates to you...?
"Well, Mom and I were in the living room, and she was making me read the book out loud to help me practice translating-"
You nod.
"-and Dad heard the part where a boy with magic got adopted and asked Mom if she was planning to do that to you."
Oh, so it's all her father's fault?
"Well, no, not really. He was just joking, but then Mom started looking thoughtful..."
Witches. Oi.
That's enough witchyness for one day, you think, and you start extricating yourself from the conversation in favor of going somewhere to exercise.
Before you lay down for this afternoon nap, you figured that it would be best to work on some of your least-developed ki techniques. It's a somewhat eclectic mix of abilities, mostly focused on Ki Infusion - but covering interactions with solid, liquid, and gas even there - and branching out to Ki Enhancement and Ki Projection besides.
Of these techniques, Ki Grip and Thunder Clap can be practiced pretty much anywhere, though you will need something to grab and release and grab again and release again for the former. Ki Beam and Slow Fall are a bit more selective: you probably shouldn't practice the former outside of whatever the School of Five Elements uses as their equivalent of a firing range; and the latter, given your lack of proficiency, definitely needs to be done somewhere with crash mats, and probably a trainer. As for Water Palm, you need a body of water at least as large as a kitchen sink - hardly a BIG issue, but still.
There really isn't any one location you can think of to go where you could practice all of these techniques at once, the main restrictions being Ki Beam's destructive nature, Slow Fall's necessary safety accommodations, and Water Palm's material requirement. Ki Grip and Thunder Clap you can practice more or less freely at any such location, you'll just need to pick up a stick or a stone or something.
It's a toss-up, but seeing as how it would be safest for you to practice the Slow Fall Technique with an instructor around, and Lu-sensei is right there next to you - still snickering about your potential adoption - you figure it makes more sense to ask him to work on that ability with you now than to go off and do something else for a while, and then have to waste time looking for him later.
"Ah, so you wish to practice the next level of falling, do you?" you master says. "Well, I can certainly agree with getting that out of the way before a meal... Amy, will you be joining us?"
Amy tilts her head slightly, giving you a puzzled look. "If you're worried about falling, couldn't you just cast Feather Fall?"
"In many situations, yes," you agree. "But what about times when I already have too many spells going to maintain another, or when my mana is too low... okay, no, that example doesn't work for me."
"It really doesn't," the witch agrees, with only a small amount of envy.
"Being magically silenced would still be an issue, though," you add, "and there's also the possibility of having to go out a window or off a rooftop in broad daylight, with witnesses all over the place. If THAT happens, I'd probably make the local news, at which point 'boy makes rapid descent, is unharmed' is at least vaguely explainable by mundane means, whereas 'boy defies gravity'..."
"Yeah, not so much. I suppose I SHOULD tag along then, Sensei. Not that I plan to jump out of a third-story window or anything like that, but better safe than sorry, right?"
Your teacher nods sagely. "Very sensible. Come, then, the back walls of the dorms are set up for exercises like this."
You and Amy trade curious looks at that. You never DID get around to exploring the "back yard" of this particular building, did you?
You follow after the old man, to see what you've missed.
As it turns out, the rear of the dormitory has sections of bouldering wall set up against it wherever there's about five feet of space to spare. The largest of these sections covers most of the middle of the dorm, with just enough space to one side to allow for a window into the unused office; two more are located near the mid-point of the group bunks, where the windows cease; and there are two more sections at the far ends. Lu-sensei leads you to a large shed and has you help him haul out the two big brothers of the crash mats down in the basement, great blue cushions each some ten feet by five, and which individually come up to your knees. These you carry over to the centermost segment of the climbable wall, which you note has more numerous and obvious handholds than the other two you passed to get there.
"Right, then," your master says, once the mats are in place, not quite up against the building. "Practice is simple. Climb to a height you feel comfortable with, let go, and try to slide down instead of falling."
You and Amy stare at him.
"Am I still asleep?" Briar wonders, having finally woken up, caught up, and grown up. "Because that feels like something I'd hear in my sleep."
"Dream, or nightmare?" you wonder.
"Either or," your partner admits.
Well, you DID want to practice this...
How high do you wish to climb, before taking a fall?
A five-foot drop would be the safest option, on account of minimizing the time you had to build up speed in a fall, but it would also give you the least amount of time to try and mitigate gravity's pull. A twenty-foot drop would be the exact opposite. Splitting the difference seems like the most reasonable approach.
Up you go, taking the opportunity to activate your Ki Grip along the way, ensuring that you will not fall off until you MEAN to. Hopefully, anyway.
"Not going to climb all the way up?" Briar calls up after you.
"Not yet, anyway," you reply, as you shift your shoulders and prepare to let go-
!
"WHAAAA-!"
-and then, because you ARE still just nine years old in spite of everything, you throw yourself off the wall with a shout of mock-horror, aiming for the cushion-
*Whoomph!*
-which does its job perfectly.
"Yes, yes, get it out of your system," Lu-sensei observes from where he stands, far enough away to avoid a collision but more than close enough to intervene if it looks like you're about to overshoot the mat or otherwise get into trouble.
Amy and Briar trade glances and then make for the wall.
"You get one jump each!" your master adds. "After that, I expect to see serious effort!"
"Yes, Sensei!"
Two quick drops later, you make your next ascent, and this time seriously attempt to work out how to slow yourself in mid-fall.
...
"Whaaaa-!"
*Whoomph!*
...
"Hup, hup, hup..."
...
"Whaaaa-!"
*Whoomph!*
And so it goes.
While you're waiting for your chances to climb up again - because Lu-sensei reasonably sensibly doesn't want more than one of you actually jumping at a time - you stand next to the unused section of the bouldering wall and test your Ki Grip on it, observing how the energy moves from your hand to the material of the wall and then through it, and comparing that to how your Ki Step technique works. The Slow Fall technique doesn't just use your hands, after all, you're supposed to employ your feet, knees, elbows - any part of the body that can provide a point of contact.
About six falls in, you at least identify the right good amount of force to push off from the wall with.
Maybe four falls after that, you think you slowed down! Slightly!
Gained Climbing E (Plus) (Plus) (Plus)
Gained Ki Grip F (Plus) (Plus) (Plus)
Gained Slow Fall F (Plus) (Plus) (Plus)
"Using your wings is cheating, Briar!" Amy calls.
"It's an advanced move!" your partner calls back.
"Focus on the basics first, Briar," Lu-sensei says.
"Yes, sir..."
Wait a minute. If Slow Fall is "the basics," then is he saying...?
After about half an hour, you decide to call a halt to this exercise. After a few last for-fun falls-
"WHAAAA-!"
*Whoomph!*
-your group puts the big cushions back in the shed.
What next?
"Is there an actual Ki Flight technique, Lu-sensei?"
"Not in the Five Elements Style," your master replies, partially dashing your hopes, "and that's not for lack of trying and periodic injury on the part of various overeager fools - as many of them old as young, it must be admitted. From those attempts, we've at least learned that using an advanced application of Ki Step to traverse a stretch of open air is entirely doable, though the distance you can keep it up for tends to depend on your speed, starting elevation, and ki reserves. Levitation is likewise possible, within similar limits of speed, mass, and especially direction, but TRUE flight? That continues to elude us."
"And in other styles?" you venture.
"You can find any number of 'historical' or outright legendary accounts of various masters, geniuses, immortals, and similar luminaries said to have the ability," your teacher recounts, "but sorting out which of those were merely poetic descriptions of advanced Ki Stepping, which were the result of magic or supernatural lineage, and which were genuine ki-powered flight is tricky, at best. A few modern styles have CLAIMED the technique, but are suspiciously reluctant to offer proof or 'living practitioners'. The only exception I'm aware of is the Crane School, under Master Shen."
The name doesn't ring a bell - and doesn't "Shen" mean "crane"?
Your teacher nods. "He is not a man renowned for his humility, or a sparkling personality in general. Either would be forgivable, but he's also known to train and utilize his pupils for assassination, which is just contemptible."
Ah. So, you will probably not be learning that particular trick for a while yet.
"Oh, don't get me wrong; if you happen to see a student of the Crane School showing off their Sky Dance technique, and you manage to figure out just what it is they're doing that the rest of us have missed, by all means, steal the move and let me know. Just don't go around showing it off until you're old enough to take on the ENTIRE School's retaliation."
"...I mean, if you've got an address for this School or a picture of their Master...?"
No sooner have you mentioned the word "address" than Lu-sensei is giving you a slightly alarmed look. "You aren't suggesting GOING there, are you?"
"Wha-? No, no, no, nothing like that!" you are quick to assure him. "I was just thinking that I could SCRY on the place, you know? Maybe 'accidentally' see people practicing the technique..."
"...right. Right, because that is ALSO one of the things on your ridiculously expansive list of abilities," your teacher repeats, before letting out a relieved breath. "Sorry to have jumped to conclusions, but teleporting was fresher in my memory, given how we got here today."
Anyway, once you've clarified your intent, Lu-sensei admits that he doesn't know where the Crane School is, at least not precisely enough for the purpose of targeting it with a Spell of Scrying.
It makes some sense when you take your master's comment about this Shen guy training assassins into account. An education in the martial arts is one thing, but turning your students into hired killers is another matter, and one that a lot of people would object to on a variety of grounds: plenty from pure moral outrage; others because they didn't want a school of murderers nearby; and yet more who wouldn't want the competition. Keeping knowledge of the location limited would make sense, as would concealing the school's actual allegiance and purpose.
Still, your master agrees to ask around to see if any of his peers have that information. Failing that, he can check the School's records.
With your Slow Fall training session over, you ask your master for tips on practicing the Water Palm technique.
This leads to the four of you standing in the bathroom, waiting for one of the sinks to fill up to a useful level.
"Sinks are only useful for the most basic levels of training the skill," Lu Tze notes, as you roll up your sleeves. "And really, punching or striking so close to a piece of solid porcelain and metal like this" - he gives the thing a pat - "isn't the best idea. Non-zero chance of damaging your hands - or the sink, for that matter. Bathtubs are better for the space they offer, although at your size," he adds, looking you over, "a typical one isn't going to be as helpful as it might for a more normally-built nine-year-old."
"Should I look into borrowing Cordy's swimming pool?" you ask.
"Pools work for mastering the basic technique, yes," he agrees with a nod. "If you want to work on the more advanced forms, however, you'll need to practice in actual bodies of water. That's partly so you can get used to the currents and how they can affect the skill, partly to let you adjust to and compensate for the impact of temperature, salinity, and weather conditions, and partly so that you'll know how the presence of fish, waterfowl, and other swimmers can interfere."
You have a brief mental image of trying to punch a watery bullet at someone and hitting them with a fish by accident - or, alternately, of a fish leaping out of the water at the wrong moment and taking the hit in your intended target's stead.
Yeah, you can see how that sort of training would be useful.
Once the sink is filled up, your master rolls up his own billowing sleeve and demonstrates a quick strike that hits the surface of the water in the sink at a shallow angle, with enough force that what looks like a third of the contents go flying over the side to splash on the tiled wall just a couple of feet away. Although the water obviously immediately falls towards the floor, the upper portion of the spatter-pattern covers a surprisingly small area for the volume of liquid involved, indicating the Lu-sensei managed to form it into a proper projectile, concentrating the mass and momentum to maximize the technique's offensive impact, rather than allowing it to splash all over the place.
Shaking his hand dry-
"A secondary, but still useful aspect of the technique," the old man notes.
-Lu-sensei steps back and lets you take your turn.
After you've refilled the sink, anyway.
...
*Splash*
*Splash*
*Splash*
The results are honestly kind of pathetic, but Lu-sensei's observations and advice gradually help you make them a bit less so.
*Splash*
*Splash*
*Splash*
You know, eventually.
Gained Water Palm E
Of course, after you're done - and Amy and Briar have had their turns - there is the matter of cleaning up.
Fortunate that you have magic, isn't it?
It's about twenty after five by the time you feel you've made all the progress that a sink will allow. Given that you're already in the bathroom, there is a certain impulse to have a shower and prepare for dinner, particularly when the usual training area for advanced Ki Blasts is some distance away, and dashing around at enhanced speeds outside of scheduled classes or emergencies is a bit frowned upon.
That said, your teacher IS right there and could perhaps be prevailed upon to call it a training assignment... and that would only be necessary IF you got caught...
You have enough different spells, techniques, and miscellaneous abilities at your disposal that even you occasionally lose track of some of them, and you don't have the responsibility for a whole school's worth of students to distract you.
On top of that, your master is probably a lot more concerned about the possibility of you meeting a master of assassins face-to-face than he is with you seeing a man like Master Shen at a distance - let alone from a whole other country and/or continent - because while Ki Projection, Ki Enhanced throwing, and straight-up use of bows or guns do give martial artists options for being dangerous at a distance, close quarters is still going to be more dangerous as a rule.
So, yeah, it really is only fair that your scrying capabilities might have briefly slipped Lu-sensei's mind, especially with your recent use of teleportation so fresh in memory.
"Alright, we don't have time for a trip to the beach before supper," Lu-sensei decides after hearing your request. "Not for serious practice and a trip to the showers afterwards. However, there is a closer option, if you'll follow..."
Amy bows out of this, not being far enough along with her use of Ki Projection to be ready for the lesson, and not being entirely confident in using Ki Enhancement to keep up.
Briar is in a similar place, but she's able to address the latter problem by shrinking down and hopping onto your shoulder.
And so, you do.
She stares at you.
"If you're worried about the safety-"
"Not going to lie, I kind of am."
"-it's perfectly harmless," you continue in the most reassuring tone you can. "I've actually done it myself."
"...when was this?"
"Oh, it was a year ago and then some, while coming home from the World Tournament."
"...why?"
"I wanted to give Briar a hug, and she hadn't worked out how to embiggen herself yet."
"That's... actually very sweet, but I still don't want to do it."
Well, that's fine.
"Your loss," Briar agrees.
With that, you move to follow Lu-sensei, who leads you out the rear of the building again and, at a brisk, Ki Enhanced but not actually Body Flickering pace, into the rocky hills that surround the School. A few minutes later, you come to a stop in front of a natural wall of stone some forty feet long and about a dozen high at its tallest point, leaning away from your current location at a slight angle - make it about a hundred degrees from the ground, a little steeper in some places and a little less in others. Unlike much of the surrounding area, there are no creeping plants, fungi, or loose soil to be seen clinging to this length of the hillside; instead, there is an assortment of scorch marks, cracks - ranging from thicker than your finger and thus obvious at a distance to hair-fine and nearly unnoticeable until you're right up close - and indentations. A certain amount of gravel, dust, and soot lies at the base of the wall, and there are some larger intact stones scattered about, though none within a certain distance of the upright stretch of bare, battered rock.
"How long has the School been using this spot for target practice, Sensei?" you ask.
"At least since my master's time," Lu Tze replies. Dusting off a nearby rock, he settles down atop it, assuming a vaguely meditative pose. Noticing your attention, he waves for you to proceed. "Don't wait on me, go ahead and take your shots."
How exactly did you want to train your Ki Beam?
You've only used the Ki Beam a few times, but one thing you couldn't fail to notice is that it's a pretty effort-intensive technique, and not just in the sense of the ki that it consumes. Actually shaping the energy into a coherent beam and keeping it going takes quite a bit more physical effort and mental focus than firing off a simple Ki Blast or a barrage of Ki Shots does, which is part of the reason why you can't keep it up for very long.
The other part of that is, of course, the ki cost. Not so much in the absolute amount that the move eats - because you do know a few ki techniques that are still more "expensive" in this regard - but in how quickly the Ki Beam uses up that energy.
Either way, you need to get yourself accustomed to the side-effects of the technique if you're going to make any sort of serious use of it, and so your primary focus for this training session is on endurance. The best way you can think of to train that is to use the move, push to keep it going as long as possible, and then use it again while you're tired.
Since this is training and your ki reserves aren't bottomless, you start off with low-powered Beams, and then gradually work your way up.
After endurance, accuracy strikes you as the most important aspect of the Ki Beam technique. Its damage output may not be very impressive right now, but in the future, when you've refined the move to the point where it can deal the same sort of damage that your basic Ki Blast does, and KEEP doing so for as long as your target remains in the path of the Beam... well.
At full power, your Ki Blast is currently capable of punching through a thin sheet of metal, and you could Overload it for even greater effect. While it's low-end compared to the damage potential of some of your spells - quite a number of which can be summed up as, "screw everything in that general direction-slash-geometric area" - it's still more than enough output for you to be concerned about where it might end up if you missed your intended target.
Fortunately, this is something you're able to work on in tandem with your endurance training. Aiming ki techniques isn't just about hand-eye coordination, as more corporeal ranged weapons would be; the energy involved is an extension of your being, which means it should be entirely possible to guide its trajectory even after it's left your body.
Lu-sensei confirms that theory, which leads to you spending about half of your endurance training also trying to alter the path of your Beams without changing your physical stance.
After about a quarter of an hour of endurance-slash-accuracy training, you don't feel that you have the time or the energy to spare for working on the pure output of your Ki Beam.
That said, it was meager enough to start with that you're pretty sure you saw some improvement ANYWAY. Certainly, some of your later shots cracked against the stones in a way the earlier blasts didn't.
Gained Ki Beam E
Gained Ki Endurance F (Plus)
Gained Ki Guidance F (Plus)
Aside from taking a shower and changing clothes, is there anything you feel needs doing in the time remaining before supper?
The offer you made to Amy earlier comes back to you as you make your ki-boosted return to the dormitory, an idea bubbling up in its stead: if she doesn't want to be shrunken herself, perhaps she'd concede to having a fairy and a fairy-sized version of you riding around on her shoulders for a bit?
Unfortunately, when you get back to the building, you find that Amy is in her room, wearing a different set of clothes than before your shared drills and sitting patiently on the bed while Cordelia kneels behind her and runs a brush through hair still slightly damp from the shower. Queen C has the look of someone recently cleaned up as well, and when the girls notice you, their attention immediately goes to Briar.
"Oooh, do we have time for one more styling session?" your partner asks, leaving your shoulder to resume her human size.
"If you don't take too long in the shower, sure," Cordelia replies, without taking her attention from her work.
"Give me seven minutes."
And she's off.
You mentally mark down Plan Bad/Good Idea Fairies for another time, and go to fetch your own bath supplies and a change of clothes.
About fifteen minutes later, everyone is ready for the meal - Larry and Lily having turned up while you were in the shower - and you return to the dining hall. There's an actual crowd outside the building when you arrive this time, even if it's only about twenty people or so, and you notice some looks of interest when your party's approach is spotted.
Your desire to talk and your desire to feast are about equal in measure this evening, and so you split the difference, filling your tray but not overloading it.
As you do so, it occurs to you to wonder if there are any foods that are particularly beneficial as part of a ki-user's diet, or, conversely, if there are things that should be avoided. The food being served by the School's dining hall doesn't seem particularly exotic, once you've taken the differences in American and Taiwanese cuisine into account, but you could be missing something.
You consider asking Lu-sensei about this, but then decide to leave it until later, so as not to hold up the line, delay your own meal, or potentially offend the cooks.
Because that would be a TERRIBLE way to start the week.
Although some of the younger kids seated at the tables near the front of the hall are giving you hopeful looks, you move to the middle of the room instead-
"Awww..."
-reasoning that after having spent the previous meal sitting and talking with your age-mates, it's only fair if you give the other members of the School the chance to avail themselves of your company.
Besides, the middle row is well-positioned for most of the hall to be able to hear you talk, as long as you remember to speak clearly.
"So, if memory serves, I left off in the middle of discussing interesting places I'd been...?"
"Actually," one of the older students interrupts, as politely as such a thing can be managed, "the last thing you talked about was something about a guy with fangs?"
"He already talked about his friend in the dormitory," somebody observes.
"He did? Well, even so, a lot of us weren't there to hear it, and we're still curious!"
"Okay, sure, but some of us want to hear the other story!"
You had been planning to discuss your trips to Antarctica next, because how many people in the world can say they've ever been to the southernmost continent? Even if there's nothing down there that you'd really consider a tourist attraction, you personally found it an interesting experience, with just enough supernatural strangeness and hints of horror to make for a good story.
On the other hand, Sokka's an amusing tale all by himself, and you would hate to disappoint some of your audience...
...but then again, repeating one of your stories this quickly would probably disappoint the members of your audience who have already heard it.
Also, Sokka IS in this story, so that's something, right?
With a brief apology for those listeners who were hoping otherwise, you proceed to tell the tale of your visit to Antarctica-
"You went WHERE?"
"Is it as cold as they say?"
"Did you see any penguins?"
"Were there polar bears?"
"Not at the South Pole-"
"Not unless you count bear-people," you add, thinking of some of the Water Tribesmen.
"-wait, what?"
-and your venture out into the frozen plains to search for meteoric iron and glacier ice.
You'll mention the legend of the Ice Woman - it's a proper tragic tale, as well as a warning to mind one's behavior around spirits - your "quarrying" of the glacier via Ice Elemental form, and of course, your dramatic encounter with the angry storm spirit, but do you want to discuss the Unnamed Things that Elder Tiriaq indicated lived deeper inland? You never actually saw them or got any specific details, just a second- or third-hand recounting of a doomed expedition from many decades ago.
Thinking on it a bit, there's a potential lesson to be imparted to your fellow students by mentioning the unfortunate fate of that long-ago, almost entirely doomed expedition - and thinking a bit more, there's actually more than one teachable moment involved.
For starters, there's the obvious warning that there are some things in this world - and others - that really are better off left well alone, even by those who are capable of bending the laws of physics and the prevalent tendencies of the metaphysical to their whim.
The whole incident is also a solid example of why dismissing the cultural wisdom and ESPECIALLY the warnings and taboos of other peoples just because they don't meet some standard of supposed "advancement" can be a really bad idea.
With that in mind, you briefly describe the goal of your first visit to the southernmost continent-
"Wait, you went all the way to the South Pole just because you wanted a familiar?" somebody asks.
"Do all sorcerers do that?"
"CAN all sorcerers do that?
"I'm pretty sure that's a no... probably, anyway..."
"Can't, don't, or won't," Briar chimes up. "Alex was just going overboard, as he tends to do."
"I didn't hear you complaining," you remark. Questioning and snark, yes, you definitely remember those, but no actual complaining.
...well, not about the ritual or the quest for the reagents. The actual COLD of the place, on the other hand...
In any case, while you're sifting through memory, Briar is preening. "Like you said, I am worth the effort."
Ah, you did say that, didn't you? When you were pulling the ice out of the heart of the glacier, if you remember correctly.
"Wait, you're- oh, right; you're a fairy."
-which requires some explanation all on its own.
You describe the Water Tribe settlement and its inhabitants-
"You saw a yeti?"
"Why does that remind me of something...?"
Some of the instructors sigh at that.
You foresee a history review in that student's future.
-and then your meeting with Elder Tiriaq, which you retell in a slightly different order than it occurred, starting with your desire to find both a fragment of glacial ice and a meteorite, and then explaining the shaman's warnings about venturing too far inland, or to specific locations.
That segues naturally into the story of the archaological expedition to the mountains.
"Now why does THAT sound familiar?" one of the adults mutters.
Some of the man's peers spare him questioning glances at that remark.
Although the possibility of corroborating Elder Tiriaq's tale does appeal to you from an academic standpoint - particularly since the shaman ultimately didn't and possibly couldn't tell you very much about the mostly-doomed Antarctic expedition to begin with, what with the passage of time and the fact that none of his forebears took part in it - that whole affair is only a sideline to the tale you're actually telling, and not one you particularly want to derail said story in favor of.
That said, you do make a note of which of the instructors seemed to know something about the incident. However uncertain his recollection might be, it's something you'll be wanting to ask him about later, whether that's at a break in the story or some time after dinner.
The idea of using Telepathy occurs to you again, but the response your suggestion-slash-request to use it earlier got from Lu-sensei was kind of vague on actual PERMISSION, and you did agree not to use psychic powers at the breakfast-dinner table, so you should probably hold to that even though it's now suppertime.
Plus, even if you don't consider Telepathy an invasive technique, you can see how some people would be uncomfortable with it, especially if it was sprung on them from out of nowhere.
Moving on from the story of the ill-fated research team, you recount the Legend of the Ice Woman-
"Japanese snow spirits in Antarctica? ...actually, yeah, I can see it."
"That and the Arctic, yeah."
"Or up the Himalayas."
There are nods and noises of agreement all around.
-and from there move on to your little ice-mining expedition.
"You turned INTO an ice elemental?"
"No way."
"Cool!"
"Literally, even."
"Can you do other elements?"
"I mean, shapeshifting IS a thing..."
"Yeah, but, into a walking block of ice?"
"A walking glacier, even," one of the instructors notes dryly.
That gets some puzzled looks, a few ingenuous nods, and one remark of, "It didn't sound like he was THAT big..."
The instructor sighs, his hint having clearly gone over their heads.
For your part, you weren't expecting such a reaction over a comparatively minor portion of the story, but then again, while your studies have suggested that the basic Spell to Acquire an Elemental Body is fairly widespread among the magical traditions, it's also fourth-circle magic. While not particularly impressive by your personal measure, that's just advanced enough to be outside the reach of "common" spellcasters, meaning a lot of these people have probably never encountered it. More than that, the forms the spell can grant are normally limited to the four basic elements, not the comparatively "exotic" elements like Ice or Lightning.
And of course, you ARE talking to adherents of the School of Five Elements. You know from your talk with Grandmaster Wen that actual elemental manipulation is among the secrets of the style, however modest it might be compared to more focused and/or arcane disciplines, so in retrospect, it does make sense that a lot of the students would be interested in that sort of thing.
"In fact, I have also transformed myself into elementals of Air, Earth, and Fire," you add.
"But not Water?" comes the obvious question.
At that, you can only shrug, explaining that, "Somehow, a situation hasn't ever come up where it was necessary."
"What sort of situations made turning into a walking boulder or fireball necessary?"
Well, you've turned into an Earth Elemental a few times because it allowed you to move through earth and stone as easily as you can through open air, and also because a body made of living stone is somewhat stronger and tougher than one made of flesh and bone - you know, barring high levels of particular applications of Ki Enhancement - so it's useful in a fight. Earth Elementals also don't need to breathe, which is a "weakness" that ki manipulation hasn't given you an answer to as yet.
"There are some advanced exercises that allow you to function on reduced levels of oxygen, or even to safely go without for extended periods of time," one of the instructors notes. "Actually being able to go without air at ALL, though..." He trails off with a glance at the masters.
"The closest to such a thing that I am aware of are the tales of those meditations that allow one to project one's soul to other planes," a master replies. "Even then, however, I believe one's mortal body still requires air - though perhaps only once one's spirit returns from its trek beyond."
If he's referring to Astral Projection... maybe? You'd have to consult with one of your tutors to be sure, and even then, that would be the arcane version of the ability; it might be missing something in the method ki uses to achieve the same kind of result.
Anyway, turning into an Earth Elemental has also come in handy as a disguise, since you don't look a thing like your flesh-and-blood self except for the broad body plan. Though that has proven true for all of the elemental forms you've adopted thus far.
When it comes to turning into a Fire Elemental, being able to set things aflame just by proximity definitely has its uses, though it's admittedly just as much of a safety hazard in a lot of situations. Being immune to most forms of fire is also a useful ability-
"Only most forms?"
You offer a brief explanation about spells such as Flame Strike, which for all their pyrotechnic appearance, aren't composed solely of flame.
-and of course, you're probably never going to forget the time you challenged a Fire Elemental to a dance-off.
"You did what."
"Did you win?"
"We were actually interrupted by a gas explosion, but since I was in better shape afterwards, it counted as my win."
As for the time you turned into a Wind Elemental... well, that ties into another of your travels, which you'll get to in due course.
For the time being, you decide to wrangle this story back on track, finishing the elemental digression with a suggestion that you might be able to demonstrate in the coming days. You don't specifically mention those classes you were asked to speak at, because the masters haven't gotten back to you about when and where they will be.
After explaining how you used your Spell to Assume an Ice Elemental Body to ease the matter of mining ice from the heart of the glacier by just walking through, you proceed to the hunt for meteors, how it was greatly eased by your ability to overpower the Spell to Locate Objects-
"HOW many miles?!"
-and how it was briefly complicated by the appearance of that unfriendly storm-spirit.
When you reveal that you overcome such a fearsome and exotic opponent by the simple expedient of running away faster than it could follow, the masters, instructors, and a number of the older students nod in approval and/or understanding of your choice, but many of the younger members of your audience are visibly and audibly disappointed.
"Where's the fight?" one girl complains. "You can't build up an encounter like that and then not have a fight!"
"Did you at least go back later? Oh, or did the storm come looking for you to take revenge?"
You repeat Elder Tiriaq's assessment of the typical attention span and long-term memory of storm-spirits, and add that this encounter was before you'd mastered the Spell of Mind Blank, so even if the storm HAD been trying to track you down, it would have since lost your trail.
It also hasn't caused trouble for the Southern Water Tribe, at least not last you heard, and you DO get letters from them on the regular.
"Aw, man... I mean, good for them...?"
This eagerness in kids around your age to hear of a violent struggle might be upsetting to some. Personally, you find it more familiar than anything else.
...a fact which might ALSO upset some people, you concede, but some people are weird like that.
"Awww..."
"But-!"
"Come on, just one more?"
"I only have so many stories to tell, and I'm going to be here all week," you reply. "I have to pace myself, or I'll end up running out."
"Well, if you can't tell us anything new," the guy who wanted to hear the Story of Sokka earlier says then, "how about something that's already been told?"
You consider it for a moment, and then shrug. "Sure, why not? So, for the sake of those who weren't in the dorm to hear it..."
By the time you've finished recounting the tale, the meal is over, with a few people having cleaned their plates and taken them to the counter - as quietly as possible, to avoid interrupting the story - while most are still lingering over their desserts or the last few bites of their now largely-cooled meals. You finished your own supper, as did your friends, who are just hanging around patiently while you end your storytelling; once you're done, you bow out and pass your dishes to the waiting cafeteria worker behind the counter. You then wait a moment longer to see if the masters are going to say anything about your upcoming guest-speaker status, or even that fish-run you asked to take part in, but once it's clear that any such announcements won't be made until tomorrow, you figure that's your cue to leave the dining hall.
It is now almost seven o'clock, and between your recent meal and the fact that you've already had one shower today, you'd rather not engage in strenuous physical activity for the remainder of the evening. With that in mind, how do you want to finish up the day?
You decide to go back to the dorm, take a load off your feet, and read for an hour or so, to let your stomach do its thing. Since you were already a couple of chapters into The Illusion of Separation and had found some interesting tidbits in the process, you see no reason not to continue with that book - or, for that matter, to not continue testing your prospective Ki Reading technique.
The mental enhancement spells that you were worried might have been affecting your progress there have since lapsed, so this is a good opportunity to test how the ki boost works when it's only got your normal mental processes to build off of.
...well, that and your still-active Ki Enhancement technique.
En route to the dorm, you state your intention to read for the next little while-
"Oh, you found their library?" Amy interrupts, when you explain just what you'll be reading. "Did you check out anything else, and do you think I could read it?"
...you might not want to let on to having copied a few of the library's books, but there IS Roots of the Volcano to consider.
-and to take a walk after that. Following this, you ask your friends if they have any plans for the remainder of the evening.
"Briar, Amy, and I have been invited to meet up with some of the girls we were talking with earlier," Cordelia replies.
Secret girl stuff, no boys allowed?
"Pretty much. Sorry that they don't recognize your 'honorary girl' card here, but..."
No, no, it's fair; they hardly know you, after all.
Larry got invited to go play non-American football in a bit with a few of the other guys around your age. He says they were hoping he'd invite you to join in.
Lu-sensei will be showing Mrs. Blaisdell out to the "target range" that you were using earlier, so she can get a look at the place where she'll be using her gun in the not-too-distant future.
Scientifically speaking, the best approach to testing how well Ki Reading works would be to eliminate any other influences that could confuse your results. Under absolutely ideal conditions, you'd try it out with no enhancements of any kind running, but neither Mind Blank nor the Spell of Tongues impact your literacy, you need the former up for safety's sake, and you invested enough effort into ensuring the latter would persist for the duration of your stay that dismissing it before the first day is even out feels like a waste.
You have no particular need for Ki Enhancement in the immediate future, though, so it can go.
Amy is careful enough with library books back in Sunnydale that you aren't worried about letting her borrow one that's signed out under your name, and certainly not while she's staying in the same building as you. Granted, you might have felt differently if either of the librarians that you met gave you enough of the "mean librarian" vibe, but that wasn't the case.
You DO advise Amy that Roots of the Volcano seems to be all about the cultivation of ki reserves, so if that's not a topic she's interested in, she might not consider it worth her time...?
"No, that's fine," she replies. "I'm kind of curious how it compares to the magic exercises you and Mom have me doing."
...okay, that's a good point. Hecatean witchcraft focuses on accumulation and control of external energies of a fairly wide variety, making it almost the opposite of ki, but Hyrulean sorcery has a similar internal focus - and when you compare and contrast the Madison family craft to THAT, it becomes a potentially interesting point of reference.
Maybe this will help encourage Amy's interest in the martial arts? Even if only in an academic sense?
After giving it a moment's thought, you tell Larry that you were planning on taking a walk later. Depending on where your feet take you, you might show up to watch the game, but seeing as how you've already had your shower for the day, you're not really interested in working up a sweat.
Larry is a little disappointed by that, but nods and lets you know where he'll be.
With all of that settled, you get out your borrowed books, hand the one off to Amy, and then take a seat in- -the central room of the dorm-
If there were more people in the guest dorm who might be inclined to make use of the front area or just pass through it, as was the case in the students' residence, you might have decided to look for a more private place to do your reading. As it is, with barely half a dozen people in residence, most of those soon to be on their way out, and no expected visitors, you don't have a problem with grabbing one of the chairs-
*Poof*
*Cough*
-giving it a quick shot of Prestidigitation to clear out the remaining dust that the clean-up efforts didn't quite take care of, as well as the lingering musty smell of a piece of furniture that's been shut up in a room somewhere, unused, for quite some time.
Once that's taken care of, you finally settle in to read.
Amy does a little guesthouse-keeping of her own and then claims another of the chairs, where she gets started on Roots of the Volcano.
-and open up The Illusion of Separation to where you left off.
Where Chapter Two covered the basic Ki Enhancement exercise, Chapter Three talks about Ki Perception. This order pokes at something in your memory that has you flipping first back to the opening of the previous chapter, and then ahead to the remaining parts of the book, which confirms your hunch - namely, that the author wrote about each of the six fundamental skills in the order of their "popularity" as first-time ki techniques: Enhancement; Perception; Infusion; Projection; Control; and Generation.
Getting back to the current topic, the text breaks down Ki Perception in the same manner as it did Ki Enhancement, indicating how each of the other foundational abilities contributes to its use and operation: Ki Control to, once again, direct the energy involved according to the user's will; Ki Enhancement for the augmentation of the body's natural senses; Ki Projection to extend those senses beyond the body itself - your non-visual Ki Sense and its ability to "feel" around corners comes to mind there; Ki Infusion for...
You pause, because while using ki that you've extended into an item to gain a greater sense OF that item tracks readily enough, the part where The Illusion describes using Ki Infusion to feel THROUGH other items is a new one.
And perhaps a bit awkward, when it describes doing so through your CLOTHES.
Rounding out the bunch is Ki Generation, which once more, provides the necessary fuel to keep sensory tricks going, though it can ALSO be used to make subtle, long-term changes to one's ki flows and reserves. This is how your passive ki senses came into being, a process so simple that it's almost automatic once someone wakes up their Ki Perception.
After reading through the chapter once, you check the time, confirm that it took about seventeen minutes to read, and then go back to the start, activate your new technique, and re-read everything.
...
The next time you check the clock, about sixteen minutes have gone by.
Gained Ki Literacy F (Plus)
Success! Kind of...
Chapter Four of The Illusion is dedicated to basic Ki Infusion. When it comes to this technique, Ki Enhancement contributes in more than one fashion: there is the physical aspect of improving the wielder's grip on the item and their control of its movements, in a way that starts with pure manual dexterity and then goes beyond it; but there is also a more esoteric aspect of "enhancement" at work, which leans into the nature of true Ki Infusion and augments the actual substance and even the function of the item being wielded. It's not as direct as the Spell to Enchant a Magic Weapon, but it is entirely possible to use specific applications of Ki Infusion to make a weapon "magical" enough to bypass exotic defenses that would otherwise blunt a mundane attack.
Ki Strike is a bit simpler and more efficient, but this "Ki Weapon" technique does have its own advantages to make up for that, mainly of greater reach, increased mass (and thus striking force), and the cutting edges, piercing points, and/or hardened and shaped striking surfaces of various weapons just being better at inflicting injury than bare hands to begin with.
Not to mention that, even with Ki Enhancement, there are some things you would still rather not touch with your bare hands. A weapon, at least a cheap one, is rather more disposable.
Moving on with the list of fundamentals, Ki Perception's role in Ki Infusion is obvious, as tracking the movement of your own energy through a foreign object gives you a better read on what that thing is and what it's doing, as well as what is being done TO it. Ki Projection is obviously required to extrude one's internal energies through a medium that would normally resist them, and Ki Control to do so in a manner that doesn't damage or otherwise weaken the object by trying to force your power somewhere it shouldn't be, though it's also helpful in just keeping the energy moving against the item's natural resistance. Finally, there is Ki Generation, which - aside from the now thrice-mentioned "power source" aspect - contributes by allowing one to link one's self and vital energies to an item that has no such power, or at least not any longer, adjusting the body's energy flows to account for that small portion looping through whatever blade, bludgeon, or stabby bit you're holding.
You have heard philosophical claims about a warrior's weapons being an extension of her body, both awake and in your dreams, but you think this may be the first time you've seen that statement made so literally.
It could be worse, though; some ancient master could have gone all Wolverine...
Having finished that chapter, you glance at the clock and see that it took you another sixteen or seventeen minutes for you to read this chapter. The author seems to have managed a respectable consistency of content, both in terms of simple volume and in actual information imparted.
That aside, your Ki Literacy technique is running as smoothly as you could ask for with such a new-made skill, your well-developed Ki Prowess and Ki Enhancement ensuring that you're able to hold the energies steady, even if they aren't accomplishing very much just yet.
It occurs to you that you could, once again, re-read a section of the book, albeit this time after having used ki to do so the first time around. This would also be a way of testing how well you can suppress the Ki Literacy skill while doing something else, without actually cancelling it.
Or you could just keep reading. It's not like you NEED to keep reading every chapter twice!
Even though The Illusion of Separation is a fairly short book with relatively short chapters - though some of that is down to the non-trivial number of illustrations and diagrams - re-reading each of them was starting to feel more than a bit like a time-wasting exercise. It was one thing when you were confirming that your new and untested ki technique was actually doing something, much less the specific thing you wanted it to do, but now that you have that confirmation, you don't really see a point in further repetition.
With that in mind, you press on to read one more chapter before taking your planned-upon walk.
On that note, Chapter Four of The Illusion covers the topic of Ki Projection. Ki Enhancement's role in this field is to augment the ki itself, allowing it to hold together once removed from its native environment (ie, the user's body), and also to retain whatever shape or special properties one's training and intent allow one to imbue into it.
Ki Perception is needed for techniques of this sort because, once the ki is out of your system, you can no longer rely on that instinctive internal "feel" for what it's doing and where it's going; pure ki is normally imperceptible to the naked eye and often to the other mundane senses, its presence only becoming apparent when it is exceptionally concentrated or when particular properties have been added.
Ki Infusion's role is to help assemble the various ki-based constructs the Projection technique produces. Such things are rarely actually composed ENTIRELY of ki, instead having dirt, water, air, or some other medium involved to help them hold together and to allow them to affect the physical plane in ways that pure life-force wouldn't be able to - at least not until higher levels of proficiency. You've progressed far enough in this field of ki manipulation that you're able to solidify your manifested life-energy, meaning you can use much LESS of any given substance as an anchor, and hence don't have to spend as large a portion of an attack's power just shaping and launching it - instead, you can go straight to the blasting, which is why the upper range, speed, and striking power of your Ki Blast and other attacks have improved as much as they have.
Incidentally, pure ki attacks ARE entirely possible, but even at that stage, you're still using Ki Infusion to some degree. It's just that what you're infusing your ki into at that point is the ki you've already Projected from yourself, or at least, the construct that's holding all of it. Though it can also be said that your TARGET is the subject of a degree of Ki Infusion as well, but the book notes that will be discussed a bit more in the relevant chapter.
Ki Control's contribution to Ki Projection is the obvious shaping of the various constructs, but also the creation of the internal systems - simplistic as they are - which allow the things to not only keep existing for a while after they've been completely cut off from the support of their creators, but also to perform their intended functions.
Lastly, there is Ki Generation, repeating its refrain about providing fuel for ki techniques, and once again having a bit more to contribute besides. Although Ki Blasts and the like tend to have very, VERY short lifespans, a successful Ki Projection of a less aggressive and intentionally short-lived nature can remain in existence for a surprising amount of time. Ki Generation plays into that, for while you can't make techniques self-sustaining, you can affect how much energy they're able to store and how quickly they use it up.
You check the clock again, and see that you hit seventeen minutes almost exactly that time. A bit slower, but then, the chapter was a little longer as well.
If nothing else, you just read two chapters back-to-back, giving your Ki Literacy more of a workout in terms of endurance than if you'd stopped to re-read Chapter Three normally. So that's something.
Gained Ki Literacy F (Plus) (Plus)