Sachihiro

I meditate for almost an hour alternating between the frustratingly elusive rested mind and focusing and maintaining my chakra flow. The problem with chakra is that it has to be balanced, each chakra point balanced to perfect health individually.

Then the seven chakra points have to be opened so that one flows into the other smoothly. From the root chakra at the base of the spine to the crown chakra at the top of the head and out further, flowing straight but branching throughout the body, like a twisting river resulting in a physical, emotional, metaphysical harmony that could never be described. Promoting healing, strength, power, love and joy in one's self.

The next step needs to be stabilizing the chakras so they become true pools within the spiritual body instead of ever-changing ever-moving currents impossible to catch or control as they heal the body. A feat much easier to describe academically than accomplish spiritually or even physically since the healthier your chakra the more it develops physically in the body. Once the chakra is condensed into a pool at each point then and only then can it be consciously tapped into.

That is the state I am yet to reach in my chakra meditation, condensing it into pools within my spiritual body. It's like trying to catch the wind with my hands or using a new muscle for the first time in my life, it just takes a lot of time and practice. Eventually, I will be able to manifest my chakra into the physical world or affect the world using chakra energy, not exactly sure how it works but I'll figure it out. A tool with almost endless utility even if it lacks the destructive power of mana in comparison.

Even then though, the metaphysical spirit-body needs a way to interpret the intentions of the physical body which is where learning the chakra release seals comes in. Release seals are a sign language of the god-tongue. The language that drives mad the uninitiated that attempt to learn it and all who understand it have to break their minds in order to stay sane, or so I'm told. Those that can speak it know and are acknowledged as wizards as they can speak things into existence with words of power. Even in its diluted forms, forms that found their ways on Gaia every variation of god-speak be it actual words, symbols, sign language or thought is very dangerous without achieving a divided mind first.

After meditation, I do my stretches, a mix between stretches Asriel taught and some I learnt at Shimane designed to keep me supple and fit. Challenging both my flexibility, muscle strength and elasticity of my ligaments. These I never do for more than 30 minutes as tight ligaments also have their advantages.

I unwound the satin clothe my beautiful zanpakutō is wrapped in. The sheath is a type of iron but I think there is a bit of obsidian in there. It's completely black and polished smooth, made mainly of bound and scalable celestial iron resulting in it feeling like a part of my sword, a part of me.

My nodachi's guard is circular with intricate patterns cut into it, also made from celestial iron. The handle is long at 30cm, giving me more than enough options for gripping for leverage in different situations.

The grip guard being the only thing not made of celestial material is wrapped tightly in a clothe I've never seen before. Comfortable and very decorative, beautiful to look at and dyed in crisscrossing red and black colours. To the Hito people the katana is both a possession prized for it's beauty symbolizing status and artistry, and for its functionality as an efficient weapon of death. The total length of my nodachi is about 130cm, longer than some dwarves are tall. Seeming longer in its sheath because my beautiful monster is a duel weapon. Usable both as a blunt weapon when sheathed and a deadly blade when unsheathed.

I practice my stances using my sheathed zanpakutō. Waki-game, the stance of leading with the body, sword held back and point facing back. Weight balance changing from front to back foot depending on a need for attack or defence. Keeping the length of the blade hidden from an opponent, resulting in them not knowing its length or intended position of attack.

I excel in this stance I realised while sparing with the Brave.

Hassō-no-kamae, the tree stance. With the left foot forward and sword held high above the right shoulder. Mainly appropriate for attacking and changing angles quickly to bring the blade close to the body. Perfect for responding in any direction with a bit of footwork and flexible shoulders.

From Hassō I practice jōdan, gedan and Chūdan-no-kamae. Each stance ideal for attacking and defending in different situations. After each stance, I practise the choreographed moves that follow in a sequence. The first four moves of each, cutting down imaginary opponents with my sheathed blade over and over again.

The iron sheath of my blade should make it heavy, as heavy as any pole-arm even with the lightweight nature of Hito blades. But because the sheath itself is a spirit bound item to me it's as light as a single-handed war hammer. Which may seem to be too light for a nodachi of this size, but is actually perfect for the style I'm learning to use.

A style I bribed Kazimoto with twenty kilos of celestial ore for his personal use. Enough to make eight katanas and a bit more I imagine. For which I got lessons for seven days and a scroll he scribbled together in less than 20 minutes to continue my training during the trip.

Kazimoto apparently has several kenjutsu and zanjutsu styles in his rapetiour, which is the only reason I was able to bribe him at all.

The man is a walking talking fount of sword disciplines. Taking different students to teach different styles seemingly at random throughout the years. Sometimes resulting in the current styles each family ends up using exclusively generations later.

After hearing that story I started believing that the old drunkard really might be almost 2000 years old.

"Are you done yet?" Asriel asks after my practice has been going on for at least two hours.

I've become obsessed with learning Kazimoto's unnamed style. Forgetting all else when I begin to practice with nodachi in hand starting with the jumping and acrobatic exercises Kazimoto recommended.

Most of the slashes are circular, either circling the blade around myself like a sweeping dome around myself in a move that nearly dislocated my shoulders the first few times, to jumping spins that circle around me like a cyclone. The jumping slash I used to defeat one of the Brave during sparing is currently my favourite. Focusing all power and momentum on wherever along the blade it connects first with the force of my body weight and momentum behind it.

Very difficult move to block unless you are Awakened, a vampire, very skilled or very strong or you have an appropriate weapon for blocking, a shield will do.

"Yea I'm done," I say and drink from my gourd, wiping the sweat off my brow.

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"Good, now let's enjoy the view. It's not every day I see a 120-meter long skeleton leaning against a mountain."

We walk to the edge of the cliff and look at the beautiful view of the mountain range and especially the skeleton as the twilight of dawn makes way for the light of day.

The skeleton seems to be almost all the way up the mountain, the bones bleached almost as white as the snow. It's ribs and forearms sticking out of the mountain like a draugr leaving its grave while the rest remains entombed in rock. The size of the thing is impossible, as Asriel said at about 120m from head to toe as far as I can tell.

"It's big," I say with awe in my voice wondering how something of that size could exist, and again what monster could have killed it.

"It's very big," Asriel says nodding, looking at his sketch pad and up again at the sight.

He is a very talented artist, a vocation I at first didn't understand in a warrior of his calibre. But to live and know only battle and death is a sad existence, even though it can be an exciting existence.

"What happened to the rest of the Titans, I don't think I know their story?" I say not taking my eyes off the sight. The fog obscuring my view on occasion as it's blown by the wind across the patches of snow visible on the other mountain..

"Legend says they Ascended, that the Titans as a race all Ascended. They brcame too powerful for indigenous life on Gaia along with all the other immortal races. All except those that lived in harmony with Gaia's nature Ascend to this day."

I digest that for a moment. Looking at the impossibly big skeleton in front of me, trying to imagine myself standing up to it in the challenge. I shake my head, the thing could squash me with a step.

"What kind of world is beyond the Gates that can accommodate such creatures?" I ask more bewildered than anything else.

"That is the question, my friend. What kind of world have those that reach the peak of power on Gaia been exiling themselves on all these millennia."

Asriel says while deep in thought. Its the look in his eyes more than anything else that gives him away when he thinks.

"Do you know anyone that has Ascended?" I ask. Something that has just now occurred to me.

Asriel is an Awakened Lord, the step above Awakened Warrior in the martial Awakened ranking. A 2nd Tier being with all these teachings and skills to best take full advantage of that Awakening benefits. A feat he accomplished not too long ago as he says.

He is over 110 years old as far as I've gathered from his rumbling in his foreign language. He has had training from people that are higher in power and skill than he is. Something I would have had a hard time imagining just three years ago before meeting monsters like Kazimoto or Khan Watanabe, or even any of the Watanabe in fact. Now I have reference of beings so powerful that the normal means of measuring power may not even apply.

Perspective is everything, and my little corner of the world known as the Tundra had left me narrow sighted and narrow-minded with our 60 year average lifespan perspective. Even now, looking at this huge creature that claims an entire peak of a mountain as it's grave site, I can't imagine what had killed it. I know it's dead, the slight shine of a humongous blade by its right side implies it died in battle. Or at least with the blade in hand. Yet whenever I try to imagine something bigger, stronger, or meaner than the skeletons of this creature I draw a complete blank.

"I know someone who has Ascended yes. One of my masters, Master Zaraya Zaraki."

"She became an Imperium?" I ask, an Imperium being the highest level of power allowed to exist on Gaia before a person is compelled to seek a Gate. A geas assumed to be placed by Gaia herself on those that break into the 4th Tier of existence.

"No... We still don't have a word for what she became. Master Zaraya did the unthinkable when Awakening to Mana."

He starts filling his pipe with dream weed or whatever else he's smoking these days. The dramatic pauses were at first a way to force Mira to be patient. But I think he enjoys them too much to ever stop now.

"What unthinkable thing did she do?" I finally ask when his pipe is filled and he pulls the first puffs of smoke.

He blows out the white cloud of smoke smoothly.

"She let the Mana do as it pleased within her," he says, taking another puff. I hope he realizes that doesn't answer my question.

"She didn't direct her Awakening at all, but instead embraced whatever happened to her."

I think about that for a momentum. I know a lot about Awakening because I have pestered Asriel, Mira and any of the Hito that seem to know even a hint of what it entails.

Awakening is one of the most prestigious accomplishment that my people have ever sought. As such, it was in most of our best legends. Legends about Bor and the Asgardians. The only Barbarians to ever Ascend in recent memory. Recent being several centuries ago.

"What do you mean?" I ask, so as not to misunderstand anything about Awakening.

"When the ether in our bodies reaches a certain level of saturation and purity it eventually explodes into Mana.

"This is an instantaneous occurrence but it also takes years to complete. When it first happens you have access to Mana for the very first time. You can feel it, direct it, condense it further. To be a mage one has to direct that Awakening Mana to manipulation of the world around them. This usually takes the form of an elemental affinity.

"As some mages specialize in water, or air or lightning. The mana has some autonomy so you can never be too sure what element you will end up with. Warriors and other body specialists direct that Awakening Mana inward to improve themselves physically, their muscles, their bones, their reflexes.

"Even here the Mana has autonomy resulting in some people being better at certain things, even two people that invested their Mana identically will never have the exact same power or affinity to that power. Psions focus mainly on the mind. Focusing that mana on improving their minds to be able to do scary thing. Very scary things..."

He pauses for a moment seemingly just enjoying his pipe, but actually deep in thought.

"Anyways, Master Zaraya did something unheard of in the Order before her time. She let the mana be invested as it pleased within her. No one knew what she was investing of course, its every person's prerogative to keep such things secret. It took her only five months to finish her Awakening. An unheard of amount of time. Master magicians thought she hadn't finished or done it properly but all who witnessed the spectacle had no doubt she had fully Awakened. You have to keep in mind that Awakening Mana is limited."

He says looking at me and pulling more smoke, his eyes glassy and reflective from the high of the dream weed.

It's as if he can almost see the story he's telling me. Painting a picture with his words that I can just look at and understand. I nod, imagining it as he says.

"Those that choose to temper some Awakening Mana into their bones might not have enough to temper their muscles. Those that choose to temper their blood, might now have enough to temper their heart. Most people plan years in advance the combinations of things to temper the day they Awaken.

"The body doesn't allow too much of an imbalance though no matter what one plans. If you temper bones, tendons and cartilage will also be slightly infused with mana irrespective of you. So the body is never too imbalanced. Master Zaraya just let nature take its course, her Awakening directed like a kite by the wind. Letting the mana infuse her over the five months of her Awakening as it saw fit.

"Afterwards she carried on as though nothing had happened. Her main vocation was that of a warrior so she continued her training. She at first wasn't as good as any of the Awakened Warriors, not even newly Awakened warriors. But within three years she had caught up to them and her mind was a wonder. The woman never forgot and needed to learn something once as though she was a psion. Even having telepathic abilities that could have been a result of Awakening as a psion or fully utilize her crown chakra.

"Ten years into her Awakening she could cast lightning bolts with her eyes and defeat veteran Awakened warriors in single combat. I'm not even exaggerating. By then others wanted to try her method, but it isn't easy to not tweak yourself a little given the chance. Short people want to be taller, people with poor eyesight want to see better. To Awaken is to get a chance to fix everything you consider a flaw within yourself and her method required complete surrender to a force of nature we don't even understand. To trust blindly, a very difficult thing for most people. I know of only two others that have managed it to some degree.

"It became clear that though she wasn't any one thing, she had a depth of abilities that training could unlock with time. And though she may Awaken seemingly weaker in all known disciplines initially. The combination could turn out to be the greatest of powers with its versatility and potential for development.

"Her prospects seemed limitless as she even managed to learn the basics of Magic and psionic powers quickly. By the time she Ascended she was something else. A force of nature that could peat itself against any discipline and come out the victor."

We stay silent a while after that enjoying the view of the mountains. What more could there be to say?