The Celestial Forge
By: Schin Ka'Tharos
Chapter 25
(Part 1)
Silence precedes sound. What is before is easier to act upon.
~
Five days later Ciara and I walked out of the tower for the first time. I had briefed her on our available assets including what Uncle had left me and what I had discovered in the basement. Then we had turned to formulating a strategy for endeavoring out of the tower and procuring food. By the end of the five days of preparation we only had about one day left of rations remaining.
We had continued to spar each day which increased our familiarity and understanding of each other's capabilities and styles. Unfortunately Ciara was still feeling the effects of the tower and the lingering disunity from the trial. Her capacity didn't seem to improve at all over the days, however, my appreciation for her skills and abilities did nothing but increase. At her self-assessed 60% capacity she seemed more capable than what I would have expected most high level Disciples to be. Her control over celestial essence was particularly astounding and our spell-forging clashes were absurdly one-sided.
For my part, when not sparring with Ciara I spent every waking second over the five days maximizing my cultivation and combat potential. Making 3rd Apprentice was my top priority and as far as I saw it a minimum requirement for my survival outside the tower. Although it was only for a brief time, I could still remember the vitality and strength my open third flowline provided. Also, I was confident that opening the third flowline of muscular and skeletal would be particularly beneficial to me due to my martial arts training.
I had opted to keep my ghost king mask on during my advancement and it afforded me the opportunity to reflect on how far I had come in my training with it over the last three to four months. It had almost become a part of me, I forgot that I wore it and almost never removed it. While I could feel the strain of it on me during especially difficult parts of training or when I sparred with Ciara, the normal burden it imposed had become light to bear.
It had taken every last celestial rending we had and another vial of the Red Lunar Drop to reach 3rd Apprentice. I had been shocked at the amount of rendings it had required but I attributed it to the hollow space in my soulcore where the missing essence still remained within the realmwood table. As I had with my first two advancements I took the unique approach of forming my soulcore layer first and then pushing open my flowline. I had also consumed the Red Lunar Drop first this time trying out a theory that I could burn away the cinder while soul-forging the essence into my soulcore. The process had worked better than I had expected and I went to consume the last rending with a pure soulcore devoid of any cinder and bursting with potential.
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I could feel the third layer of my soulcore wanting to solidify and take form and as soon as I consumed the last shard of manna my third layer snapped into place and essence rushed into my third flowline almost unbidden. The connection to essence washed over my body and could feel the tingling power spread through my bones and muscles. I almost felt like I grew taller and more solid like my skeletal structure previously was not quite set right. My muscles across my entire body felt as if they had been previously dormant and restricted for years and was finally being stretched out, like a horse stuck in a stable for too long finally set to pasture. Not only did I get an overall mild boost in strength and agility but now I could utilize some enhancement forging.
To advance to 3rd Apprentice I had chosen to sit at the third workbench in the workshop. The apparatus on the bench was still a mystery to me but I had hoped that maybe something would reveal itself or I would gain some type of benefit from it by opening my third flowline within its proximity. Nothing activated or changed with it however and I remember simply staring at my reflection in the odd cylindrical glass tube, the lightning crackling behind my ghostly image. I barely recognized myself. My hair was longer and wild now, and my eyes seemed to match the haunting look of my mask. The pain of the past few months still drifted behind their thin veils.
Often when my mind touched on my pain my thoughts would turn to my path before me. The fourth and fifth workbenches caught my attention. Though I had only just reopened my 3rd flowline, my mind began to obsess about the two that remained ahead for me; The 4th flowline of the endocrine and organ system, and the fifth and final flowline of the nervous system and the brain. My desire to reach Disciple only burned hotter within me. Opening the last two finally seemed within grasp. Like the dawn cresting the horizon.
When not sparring with Ciara, pushing for cultivation advancement, or doing my morning and evening routine, I was pursuing my other project in the basement. Since we had such a limited time l focused on leveraging my strengths for my combat potential. Ciara’s compliment on my trick with shooting the dregs had stuck with me and I had spent deep contemplation on how to incorporate it within my current abilities. While I was confident in my up-close combat capabilities with any foe close to my rank, my time spent sparring with Ciara had opened my eyes to my glaring weakness in battle between a true Forgers and of mid to long range combat deficiencies.
“You are still so strange to me.” Ciara had said the second time we had sparred. “Most Forgers don’t focus much at all on martial combat, it’s almost purely spell-forging based. Yet here you are the exact opposite. Adeon and I were always the oddities almost everywhere since we have a heavy background in it as well.”
“There is no martial arts training now?’ I asked. “What do the Sects and Clans teach?”
“Well don't get me wrong, they teach martial arts and there are certainly many incredibly powerful Forgers with high level martial arts out there.” She said, “But overall the world of Forgers focuses on power and combat from the framework of spell-forging. Everything is seen through the lens of using essence. Let me say it like this, if someone is highly trained in the sword they will have inherent fighting capabilities that come along with the training. However, all movements, all focus is on the sword itself. Remove the sword and what is a swordsman? Or how about a marksman? An elite anchor that trains only in archery without their bow they are like a lion without its teeth or claws.”
“So I’m an archer that doesn't know how to shoot with a bow?” I said lightheartedly.
“No, you are a fighter unbeholden to a weapon.” She said with a serious face.”But also, a man walking barehanded among foes armed with blades that can cut the heavens.”
Next Chapter...
Chapter 25:(Part 2)