"So, you believe essence is a gift from the spirits, and you honor them by hunting and eating animals?" Merakk asked as they walked

"The sky spirit, the mountain spirit, and the forest spirit, yes," Teng affirmed, brushing snowflakes from his eyelids that clung like tiny white seeds.

The old man barked a laugh. It was a robust laugh, rich and raw from the belly. "Laddie, that's the most absurd thing I've ever heard."

Teng clicked his tongue but held back his irritation. Instead of defending his way of life, he looked up at the vast blue sky above. They were high up now, almost at the mountain pass, where water tumbled down from icy ledges and split into streams that fed the valley.

"You're telling me essence, the basis of all cultivation and life, comes from three spirits no one's ever laid eyes on? And they just happen to come from a backwater valley at the edge of the world?" Merakk kept laughing until his eyes gleamed with tears.

"You've said that word a dozen times," Teng said softly and muttered. "I still don't know what it is..."

"Hmm?" Merakk turned, squinting. "What was that, Laddie? Speak up."

"Cultivation. What is it?"

Merakk slapped his thigh. "I was wondering when you'd ask! You want the pretty answer or the real one?"

"What's the difference?"

"There isn't one."

Teng peered at the older man to see if he was joking. He wasn't. "Then...the real one."

"Alright. Back in the old days, thousands of cycles ago, beasts were everywhere. And not the little ones you've got in your valley. I'm talking about Titans, beasts as big as mountains and as mean as storms. Your sleeping guardian? It's from a dead Paragon. Paragons are beasts that are only subordinate and weaker than Titans. "Merakk took a sip from his water bag, the leather strap worn but sturdy around his waist. "Imagine an ant. Do you mind if it scurries and crawls beneath you?"

Teng shook his head.

"Exactly. Titans are the same. Some of them stomped us for fun, but most didn't even bother. We fought back, but what did we have? Nothing. Not a spear or a bow in the world that could touch them. More folks got crushed or blown away just by being too close to them. These are Titans—beyond anything we men could do or know. That's probably why your village believes in the spirits; they must have seen some roaming Titans long ago and tried to explain it."

"Weren't you going to tell me of cultivation?"'

"Slow down, Laddie, I'm getting there." Merakk scowled. "Now, what could we do against the Titans? Not a damn thing. So we turned to hunting smaller beasts. Even that was like children poking a bear. These things could do…well, what you'd call the mystical powers we couldn't explain. When we finally cornered and ate our first beast, we tasted that power.

That's essence. It's why we hunt. It's why we eat. Cultivation's the road you walk to keep growing stronger."

Teng's brow furrowed. "But… what's the point?"

"Survival," Merakk said, his voice rough. "For most, that's enough. But for some? Some of us want to be more. Beascension. The fifth stage. Never die, get sick, be nigh unkillable, roam the world as you please. But don’t get starry-eyed—no one's made it there yet."

"Never die? Never get sick? You think I'd believe that?"

"You'd rather believe in three spirits?"

They both laughed, which echoed as they approached the mountain pass and narrowed the landscape. Teng observed the cliffs rising on each side, faces rugged with deep grooves. Behind the ice and snow, some determined green vines clung to life, twisting and crawling.

"Let's camp here, keep moving at dawn," Merakk said, dropping his pack with a grunt. Teng did likewise, unwilling to argue with a man who'd clearly seen more cycles than he had. Still, he couldn't stop himself from asking.

"Wouldn't it be better to keep going? They might get away."

Merakk shook his head. "No, they're a large group, Laddie. Many bellies to stuff and things to carry. We'll catch up. And this isn't an insult, but you're a walking corpse as you are now.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

“Walking what?”

"You'll die if you fight them.

"I'm not going to fight them," Teng replied. "I'll sneak in, take it, and go."

"You'll still die," Merakk replied, pulling firewood from his bag. Teng glanced at him with a spark of admiration—the old man thought ahead, prepared. He hadn't brought firewood himself, but he welcomed the warmth.

"You don't know that."

Merakk snorted, brushing snow aside to make a ring of stones. "You're barely into Infuse, Laddie. They're all condense and up."

Seeing the perplexed expression, Merakk explained. "Infuse is the first stage of cultivation; condense is the second."

"I've beaten beasts stronger than me." Teng's voice held a thread of defiance. "Strength isn't everything."

"True enough," Merakk grunted, stacking the timber in the ring. "But even with fancy tricks, I doubt you'd succeed. Do you know the difference between infuse and condense?"

"Of course, I don't," Teng said, watching Merakk pull out two stones and strike them together. Sparks fell on the wood until it began to smolder, and the old man leaned in, blowing until flames caught.

"Infuse is all about eating essence-rich meat," Merakk explained as he settled back. "Where I come from, most people are past that and into the condense stage."

He eyed Teng, his gaze sober. "Then condense. It isn't just power, Laddie. It's perception, speed, and reflexes. It brings you closer to your spirit beast, making you sharper, deadlier, and more attuned to the world."

"Spirit beast?"

"The first heart you eat," Merakk said. "That is your spirit beast. Every cultivator must eat one in the early stages to pass it. They are often carefully chosen by tribes or powerful families."

“I see.”

The old man winked. "So, Laddie, who was your first?"

Teng blushed, an image of Delia coming to mind—her soft lips as they kissed, her wide hips and strong bones as they pressed against him. Then, he understood what the old man really meant. He looked down at the white sac he'd been given and then back at the old man, who smiled knowingly.

"Seems like you aren't totally inexperienced, but yes, that's good, very good." Merakk mused.

"You know what type of beast it was?"

"I do, but not much is known about them," Merak admitted. "They are a unique existence, really. The azure swarm migrates all across the world, but often where essence congregates the highest, each blue bird at the primordial stage. Even Paragons would not dare fight them lightly. Every time they feel threatened, they leave one of their numbers behind, who stalls before escaping. It's rare for one to fall, much less leave loremarks behind. They usually destroy them before dying to preserve their techniques from cultivators. Strange, I must say."

Teng thought back to that moment all those years ago as he stroked the dying bird on top of his lap. Maybe the bird didn't destroy the loremarks because it was so exhausted?

"Look, Laddie, I won't go with you to retrieve the bone," Merakk said. ”Some things a man must do alone. A bird must fly on its own two wings, you know. You still want to do it?"

"I didn't expect help," Teng said, inwardly cringing. The thought of having the old man accompanying me had crossed his mind several times since the old man saved him from the infant snow yeti. The young man shuddered. Infant, how strong would it be if it was full-grown?

"Good spirit, Laddie," Merak observed. "A man is no man if he can't deal with his problems alone. But let no one say old Merrak didn't help out a little.

The old man rummaged through his pack and took out a white sac like the one he'd given Teng. He put his hand in, then threw over what he took out. Teng caught it reflexively.

"What's this?" the young man asked, studying the hide but finding nothing worth it. It was a piece of dark, mottled hide.

"The hide of a mirage snake, the same type of beast I used to make the sacs," Merrak explained. "If you figure out what type lore is within and learn it, you might have a slim chance of success. Just a loan, though."

"Loan?"

"It means you have to give it back, Laddie. And before you go and try to get back your bone. It'll be annoying to go and get it back after your death." Merrak winked.

Teng nodded.

Merakk and Teng sat beside the fire as the night grew darker. The young man felt his eyelids begin to grow heavy but focused on studying the hide by the fire, the flames giving enough light to see by. The hide was darkish brown, and lines were etched across the skin in a circular pattern.

“What does it do?" Teng asked the old man.

The man snorted. "You got the damn thing in front of you. Don't expect me to give you all the answers. Loremarks are formed naturally as beasts of certain power ages and contain echoes of how the beasts used essence in their lifespan. Look and learn, Laddie."

Smiling sheepishly, the young man returned to figuring out the hide. If what he learned from the feathers was anything to go by and Merakk's explanation, he should be able to figure it out. But not today; he put the hide away into the white sac and lay his head onto his pack, asleep in moments.

----------------------------------------

"Rise and shine!"

Merakk's grinning face was right above his as Teng recoiled.

He groaned and rolled over, shaking his head. "Did you have to do that?"

"You sleep too deep for a cultivator, Laddie." The old man observed from the side, his bag already over his shoulders. "Always got to be ready for danger."

"I'm not a cultivator." the young man replied, still groggy from sleep.

Merakk snorted but said nothing as they started to move. The light of dawn spilled through the clouds like pale fire, and Teng observed how the night's chill slowly fled to the rocky terrain, thin mist rising to meet the light.

Teng and Merakk were through the mountain pass now. What sprawled before them was an almost golden plain followed by rolling hills as far as the eye could see.

"There. Look, Laddie."

Teng looked at where the old man pointed and squinted. It was hard to make out through the dim light of dawn, but people were moving down there, about a day's walk from where they were. About ten or twelve figures were busy dousing fires and packing up.

"They'll see me before I even get close,” the young man sighed. If he entered the plains, there were no trees, boulders, or hills to hide behind.

"Why do you think I loaned you that hide?" Merakk cackled. "Discover the lore within, then flap your tiny wings!”