Chapter 17 Apprenticeship
“Cousin!!” exclaimed Khyree in joy and surprise. “Where are you off to in such a rush? I haven’t seen you in almost two years, and you don't have any time for me?”
Daquan came to a complete stop, as he finally looked at the person he bumped into. “Khyree?!” Daquan said in shock. He glanced at Khyree’s robes and stone ankh. “What? You’re an Immortal now? Since when have you been able to cultivate? You hate Immortals.”
“You see how many things can change when you don’t keep in touch with people? So how have you been? Where are you coming from? I just got here.”
As surprised as Daquan was to see Khyree now among his Immortal brethren, he remembered that he was still on assignment for his master. “It’s good to see you too, cousin. But I don’t have a lot of time to talk right now. I have to get these crucial ingredients over to Master Muzna right away. It’s for a big experiment he has been working on for over a year now.”
“Well lead the way, I’m coming with you,” said Khyree with no hesitation whatsoever in his voice. He hadn’t seen his adopted cousin in years, there was no way he was just going to avoid spending some time with him and catching up.
From the tone in his voice, Daquan knew there would be no dissuading him. Once Khyree had his mind made up, there was no getting through to him. This was a lesson Daquan had learned years ago when dealing with his adopted cousin. “Fine, just please don’t start any trouble, cousin. Master Muzna is...well he is an irascible old goat. But he is hands down the best alchemist on this tier. The other alchemists on this tier don’t even come close to his mastery. You wouldn’t believe the amount of work I had to put in just to be accepted as his disciple.”
Khyree was well aware of Daquan’s desire to be an alchemist. He still remembered the countless hours he had spent guiding the older youth through the Wilds in search of plants and creatures for his alchemical formulas. “Alright, so he’s some great alchemist. Color me impressed. So what’s this urgent assignment he’s got you on?”
“Master Muzna has tasked me with securing some rare three thousand year old purple lotus leaves. It's the last ingredient he needs for his great experiment," replied Daquan as he headed down the path.
“So why are you coming from western district?” asked Khyree curiously. “Don’t tell me they didn't have any of those lotus leaves in the Hall of Merits. Have you seen that place, it is stuffed to the gills with all kinds of resources. Though the elder that runs that place is very strict.”
Bug eyed, Daquan looked over at Khyree in shock. The elder who ran the Hall of Merits was known for being rather abrupt and given to playing pranks on the young students. He wasn’t an elder that many would choose to seek out. “Wait, you didn’t actually interact with the elder Kelvin Kinani did you?”
“Yeah, what’s the big deal? He’s just another arrogant Immortal who thinks he should be ruling the world.”
“Just another arrogant Immortal?!” exclaimed Daquan. “You know honestly I shouldn’t even be surprised anymore when it comes to you. From the day I met you, you have been like this. Where other people fear and respect Immortals, you have always looked down on us. Yes, that’s right I included us. I was an Immortal when you first met me, but you. Never would I have expected that in a million years that one day you would start cultivating, but here you are. The one thing you have emphatically stated that you never wanted to be: an Immortal.”
“Ah, don’t remind me. I’m still fairly new to all of this. I didn’t really have much choice in the matter. It was this whole thing. There were some lives at stake. If I hadn’t chosen this path I would have died as well,” Khyree replied ruefully. “Enough about me though, how have you been cousin?”
Daquan Mourntree knew he wasn’t going to get much more from Khyree after that. His adopted cousin was one of the most private people he had ever met. After years of trying, he still had no clue about where Khyree had originally come from. The only thing he knew for sure, was that he had seen him coming down a path that led out from the Northern Wilds. But he had just chalked that up to Khyree skirting the outer rim as some people from the other outlying villages have done before.
“I’m not going to lie to you Khyree. It has been a real struggle. From the constant fights among students, to competing over resources, and the missions, the second tier is a dangerous place. What’s worse is that the elders seem to encourage the competitions. Those who are sufficiently brutal enough and highly ranked in the Sect Trials get access to all of the best resources. Students of the same rank can freely attack others of the same rank, and if they win they can take all of the loser’s belongings.
Killing other students is to be avoided, but deaths have been known to occur. Fortunately I was recently able to earn a spot as one of Master Muzna’s disciples. The great thing about that is not only does it afford me a little protection as an apprentice alchemist is deemed important enough to the Sect that we are all marked as noncombatants. Also, it allows me to earn merit points while learning the trade I love.”
It was at that point that they arrived at Master Muzna’s Hall of Alchemy. It was an ivory tower that stretched dozens of meters into the sky. Windows could only be seen on the topmost floor. The tower was surrounded by a lush and well cultivated garden. Daquan explained to Khyree that Master Muzna was the head alchemist for the entire second tier. That because of his rank he occupied and operated out of the highest level of the tower. Other alchemists were able to use the other floors for their formulations.
Daquan and Khyree hurried into the tower. Khyree was surprised to note that the inside of the tower appeared to be much bigger than the outside suggested. They traveled up several flights of stairs until they reached the highest floor. Daquan knocked briefly before entering the closed chamber with Khyree close on his heels.
Inside, Khyree found a massive circular stone chamber. There were bookcases lined with hundreds of alchemical manuals, tables covered with open books and all manner of different ingredients and alchemical tools and apparatuses. A random assortment of couches were scattered about the chamber. In the center of the chamber was a central fire pit that blazed with flickering flames of yellow and orange.
On a platform on top of the fire pit, rested an elaborate cauldron decorated with essence imbued hieratic script and vivid images of mighty beasts. There was a thick vapor that wafted out of the top of the cauldron. A distinguished man with high cheekbones and a long goatee was patiently adding various ingredients into the cauldron and then folding them in with a long handled stirrer. The man had a very serious look on his face. He was wearing a dull red robe. Khyree didn’t know what rank that color corresponded to in the Sect.
“Master, I’ve managed to procure the very last of the purple lotus leaves in the Sect for you,” said Daquan rushing to his master’s side. Daquan rotated his hand and a small mahogany box appeared on his palm which he then handed to the resident alchemist.
Master Muzna snatched the box out of Daquan’s hands and immediately opened it to examine the leaves. “Excellent quality,” the man said with a smile. He then turned and addressed the young neophyte directly. “Next time don’t take so long on a simple retrieval assignment. Your tardiness nearly ruined the whole experiment. Do you know how long I have been working to perfect this formula? Bah! What am I saying? Of course you don’t. Your simple mind could not begin to comprehend the intricacies of my grand work. You would need at least a good five hundred years under your belt.”
Daquan Mourntree silently stood there and took the criticism with his head slightly bowed. He was used to being on the receiving end of such treatment from the curmudgeonly old alchemist. If it wasn’t for the benefits that came with being an apprentice, Daquan would have long left the master’s service. He glanced over at Khyree and could see his adopted cousin beginning to get upset on his behalf, with a gesture he begged Khyree to keep the peace. He knew that if he hadn’t signalled his cousin, that Khyree would attack in his place.
One of the things he admired and dreaded about his cousin was Khyree’s fierce sense of personal honor. It was a trait that often led him into tons of trouble, trouble that Daquan along with his father in the past had to smooth over many times. But it was a trait that included those who were close to him. Not particularly prone to violence, Daquan had deeply appreciated it when Khyree had stood up for him or shielded him from others.
From what Daquan had learned of him over the years, Khyree lived by a very simple or one might even say a primitive code. Leave him and his alone, and there would be peace. But disrespect or threaten him or those he considered his kin, and time would not be enough to save you from his reckoning.
“How dare this old man disrespect my dear cousin,” Khyree thought to himself. “He must not know about me.” Khyree wanted to run over to the firepit, grab the cauldron, dump the contents over the master’s head and then beat him in the head with the cauldron until the gray matter showed through. It didn’t matter if the old man was a master, or an elder or whoever. Khyree was used to fighting above his weight class. Just as he was getting ready to launch an attack, he saw Daquan signal him to stand down.
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After a brief moment of thought, he nodded his head in acquiescence. Khyree respected his cousin, and would honor most of his requests. But that did not mean that Khyree would forget about the disrespect. There was no way that he would do that, and anyone who thought he would, did not know who Khyree Mourntree was.
Master Munza had moved over to a nearby table and began to gather up some more supplies. With his arms full, he directed Daquan to also grab some items from adjacent tables. Khyree hovered nearby as he watched the two take turns adding medicinal ingredients to the large cauldron. He noted that the heavy vapors that arose from the cauldron began to take on different colors. Khyree stepped back a bit as some of the fumes were quite potent and less than fragrant.
“Alright now add the crushed willow bark.”
“Stir it in gently you fool!”
“Pour in the jackal berry juice. Exactly sixteen drops. You can count can’t you? Why are you going so slow? Faster man, we are nearly there. There you go, now you’re getting it.”
“Right, step aside, it's time for me to add the purple lotus leaves,” said Master Muzna as he stepped up to the cauldron and added the tiny leaves one leaf at a time into the concoction. The alchemist putzed and fiddled with the formula for the better part of an hour. He then addressed Daquan “Okay come over here Daquan we have to feed the flames, the fire is not hot enough.”
Khyree watched as his cousin and the alchemist gathered near the firepit and raised their hands. He could tell by the flow of essence that they were channeling their ka into the flames. In a few moments droplets of sweat became visible on Daquan’s brow as he started to sweat both from the rising temperature of the flames and from his own exertion. The master alchemist still looked cool as a cucumber as he fed a much thicker stream of ka into the flames.
Khyree saw that after a spell the colors of the flame started to undergo some changes. At first the colors had been a dull red bordering on orange in the beginning, but as he watched the fire became more intense as the color took on a hue of bright yellow. That only lasted for a few beats as the color began to change again, this time turning the fire into a bright white flame. It was then that the fire started flickering more and more as the intensity increased.
Khyree stepped further back as he was reminded of what had happened when he had forged his tunnel to the ether. He knew what color came next, and he also knew how dangerous it was. Already he could see the distortions in the air, as the flow of essence concentrated within the firepit. The white flames began to take on tinges of a new color.
Daquan was covered in sheets of dripping sweat, his breaths were coming in heavy pants. He hadn’t had such a hard time breathing since back in the days when he was mortal. The heat of the flame was becoming so intense that he had to divide the ka he was channeling into the flames into protecting him as well.
“Mourntree, you blasted fool! What are you doing? Control your ka! The flame is destabilizing,” exclaimed Master Muzna.
“Master...I am..losing control. The flames are too hot,” stammered Daquan, his breaths coming out in wheezes.
“Oh for the love of…” said Master Muzna. “We are too close to completing this formula. I will not have this ruined because of your lack of control. You neophyte,” the alchemist said as he pointed at Khyree.
Khyree who was inches away from the exit, stopped and pointed at himself. “Me?”
“Yes, you. Neophyte. Get over here and help us feed this flame. It only needs to evolve three more shades before the formula is complete,” said Master Muzna.
“You’re trying to achieve a blue flame. That is beyond dangerous. I am not going anywhere near that.”
“Inconceivable,” said the alchemist in surprise. As a core student, Muzna would have normally been on the fifth tier. But the competition for resources was so intense, that he found it difficult to pursue his trade. That plus after one too many mistakes the other alchemists of the fifth tier had banished him to a lower tier until he could demonstrate consistent proficiency of all tier five formulas.
Determined to earn his place back among his peers, Muzna had descended down to the lowest tier for Immortals while he went back to studying and perfecting his understanding of the fundamentals of alchemy. When all else fails, it was always best to go back to the basics.
Stuck down on the second tier for the last ten years, Muzna knew that the development of his cultivation had slowed dramatically. But ten years was nothing more than a single season for an Immortal. At seventy-five years of age, he had already lived far longer than many of the mortals he had once known before coming to the Sect. At times he was dismayed when he thought about how much further along his peers were in their cultivation, but he knew that he had experienced significant growth in his alchemy.
It was enough for him to not be entirely displeased with being on such a low essence dense tier. Of course there was one other thing that he enjoyed about being on the second tier, and that was as a core student the neophytes treated him almost as if he was a god among them. Though Muzna always made sure to steer clear of the elders who were stationed on the tier. Fortunately for him, the elders of the tier were so busy with their own pursuits that as long as he kept his head down, they paid him no attention.
Muzna sucked his teeth in distaste as he noticed that the flames instead of increasing in intensity were starting to become more destabilized. He looked over at his one and only apprentice disciple who was clearly going to fall out in an exhausted slumber in the next few minutes unless something changed and sighed in despair. He lamented the fact that the Hidden Valley Shadow Sect was so combat oriented that there were too few students that were interested in pursuing the path of alchemy.
Determined to not let his current experiment fail, he continued to speak to Khyree, “Do you know who I am? I am the first person to become a master alchemist in this Sect while still under a hundred years old. Do you realize that’s never been done before? Now get over here and help me complete this formula. If I find your assistance satisfactory I will allow you to become one of my apprentices.”
“Not interested,” Khyree immediately replied.
“So quick. You’re sure that you don't want to take some time and think about my generous offer?”
“Nope, I’m not interested in furthering my grasp on herbology, zoology, and memorizing rote esoteric mathematical formulas. Too boring. I’m a fighter.”
“Master..I can’t hold on much longer,” Daquan said. He sounded exhausted.
“Argh,” muttered Master Muzna. He hated that the essence was so low on the second tier. Had he had access to more essence he could have easily completed this experiment on his own, and it certainly would not have taken him an entire year to get to this point. Muzna knew that if he had any hope of salvaging this experiment and completing his formula that he needed the help of the reluctant neophyte who was even now on the verge of escaping the chamber.
“Wait,” Master Muzna called out. “What if I told you that as my apprentice I could help make you a better fighter?”
Khyree stopped edging out of the chamber at those words. He was pretty sure that the old man was trying to trick him, but seeing as how his cousin was willing to work for him he was tempted to give him the benefit of the doubt, at least for now. “I’m listening,” he replied. He took a few steps deeper back into the chamber.
“As a master alchemist I know tons of alchemical formulas that can boost your cultivation rate and improve your fighting ability. If you are willing to help me complete my experiment now, and assist as my apprentice on an as needed basis in the future then I will lend you my skill and aid you on your path as an Immortal.”
“For how long?”
“How long for you to see improvement, or how long would you have to serve as my apprentice? Improvement, could be as soon as weeks, provided we have all the required resources. As for the apprenticeship. Fifty years. That’s the standard length of an apprenticeship.”
“Nope, not interested. I will give you ten years. Remember I’m not interested in being an alchemist.” Khyree could see that the old man was desperate to complete his experiment. He figured that gave him some room to maneuver. Besides, he didn’t trust Immortals.
“Fifty years is nothing for an Immortal. Why bicker over such a small number when you will live hundreds, possibly thousands of years if everything goes right for you? Fine, you know what? Since you are obviously a friend of young Mourntree here I will waive some time off. Forty years, and you dispose of all the alchemical waste.”
“Cousin. Daquan is my cousin, not my friend,” Khyree corrected the master alchemist. “Fifteen years and you don’t charge me for any pills and elixirs that I need you to make for my growth.” Khyree had watched Daquan’s father deal with any number of merchants over the years while back in Idlewild. It was always the small print, the tiny details that you had to watch out for. That’s where they got you.
Master Muzna never would have thought that he would be negotiating the terms of an apprenticeship with a mere neophyte. In a bitter voice he said, “Thirty years, and you provide all of the materials needed, along with the essence requirements.”
“Hmm, I think you can do better than that. Twenty years, and you credit me with merit points for every experiment I assist you with. The higher the risk of personal danger to me, the more merit points you credit me with.” Khyree doubted that he could use the apprenticeship to get out of doing his required missions for the Sect, but after doing jobs as a servant for the last couple of years he was used to having a steady flow of merit points. Even if he didn’t use them all as fast as others did.
Grinding his teeth in displeasure, Muzna said, “You can’t be serious? What, do you think merit points just grow on trees? I would have to pay you from my own supply. No, there is no way that I am agreeing to that.”
“Fine. It’s no skin off my back. Good luck with your little experiment. Hope it wasn’t too terribly important,” Khyree said as he turned around and headed back to the exit. “Oh and you can tell my cousin that I will catch up with him some other time,” Khyree called over his shoulder.
Muzna studied the flames in the pit for a few seconds as he worked on controlling his breathing. He could not afford the slightest deviance in his ka at this point in the experiment. In that instant, he wanted to strike down Khyree with one of his most lethal techniques. But the larger and wiser part of him told him how much he needed the young neophyte’s aid at that moment. He knew that if he failed to secure Mourntree’s aid, that the experiment would quickly end in catastrophic failure.
It was not the kind of loss that he was willing to take. In a voice that hinted of bitterness he addressed the neophyte, “You know this is just plain extortion, right? Fine, whatever you have a deal. Now will you please get over here and help us with this flame?”