At hearing the commander's words Cyrus bowed in front of him nearly at his feet, “Thank you for your honored service”
The commander clicked his tongue spitting, “I didn’t tell you for you to do that, especially not from some kid who doesn’t even know what he’s thanking me for”, the commanders face was sour as he said this, yet he wasn’t looking at anyone.
Cyrus looked up seeing the commander's expression he lowered his head, “I must, we still worship the Aspects, and those who worship him as crusaders.”
You would have thought someone punched the commander as he yelled, “Don’t speak of worship to me. You know nothing of it” he said as a maniacal expression showed only in his eyes. “ Get up boy, I’m no crusader anymore” When the commander said the last part he seemed pained, yet angry as he looked west going somewhere beyond the chateau.
Seeing the commander's face troubled, Cyrus got up and returned standing next to Razier searching his older companion's face as they stood shoulder to shoulder.
The commander looked upon the two searching their expression as he finally spoke,“ As you know the families and the nation, their domain, or nation is given to them by the foundation proxy of the Aspects close to a thousand years ago. What you don’t know is that only someone sort of foundation can teach cultivation.”
Cyrus seemed troubled now as he said, “ I wouldn’t have asked that if I knew you were a commander of the foundation“
The commander waved him off, “It was a good question and it showed you are not blind to trust someone, though you should watch how you speak in the future. If I was a Chancellor, I wouldn’t have a choice but to punish you. ”
Cyrus bowed his head slightly, seeming to be a quick study not to bow to the commander. The commander smirked at the young teen who asked, “What stops people in the foundation from teaching everyone to cultivate?.”
The commander spat again nodding, “Let’s say I go to your village, find you, and teach you out of some goodness in my heart how to cultivate, others of course will want to learn also. I could simply say no but what if you taught what I taught to the villagers? Not only is that forbidden for you, but the foundation will find me liable and seal my valves.”
Cyrus opened his mouth to interrupt, but the commander ignored him, “ Yes, they can seal your valves, and cut off your connection to Qi. It’s a great system where most soldiers will take an apprentice and teach them everything they know. It’s a three-way system of soldiers, foundation, and regular citizens. The foundation encourages this by having soldiers in the foundation make an oath that we can’t have children. It’s really in our culture to only have one apprentice who we not only teach how to cultivate but we make them our heir.”
Cyrus looked awestruck at the commander, as he almost bowed again, “Don’t even think about it” the commander said without a hint of amusement, reading Cyrus’s mind.
Cyrus quickly stood up straight, as he looked around not making eye contact.
Razier laughed at his younger companion's antics, but amusement quickly left the air when the commander's raspy voice broke through. “While you two will be the only people I will ever train, it’s not because I want an heir or anything.”
Cyrus smirked at the commander's words, even Razier rolled his eyes as the commander explained, “First, I get to stick it to the foundation by having something of my own that they can’t control. Which reminds me you will need to take an oath you will not join the foundation as a soldier, otherwise I won’t teach you.” Razier nodded seeming to agree, though Cyrus was looking at the commander like he had two heads.
The commander seemingly unfazed committed, “Second, you have Alexander as your leader and he’s paying well in foundation coin”
Razier nodded in understanding, but Cyrus was smiling and staring at the commander like he caught him stealing. “Still, you have to trust us,” Cyrus said with a sky grin.
The commander shook his head unamused, “You need to listen better your benefactor, or whatever he is, is a part of the Von Angelus family's main branch. His family is under the same oath as us soldiers of the foundation. Even if you didn’t listen to me, you’d have to listen to him so if anything it’s more like I trust that you wouldn’t betray the family you serve”.
Razier finally spoke, “While I’m sure Cyrus enjoys learning more about the foundation’s power politics, I’ve been waiting a long time to learn how to open my valves”
The commander looked over at Razier grinning, “Ah yes, I’ve heard about you. Bound by duty and family. You should already be tethered to your artifact.”
Razier bit his lip as he gripped his cotton pants. The commander put on a wicked grin seeing his information ring true,” It’s a surprise how much you can learn in just a week”.
Razier released his grip as tension left his shoulders, “I wasn’t forced, I chose my honor, and family over selfish wants something a soldier of the foundation could never say.”
Cyrus looked between the two older men as they stared at each other neither budging an inch. After about ten seconds the commander began laughing whipping his head up towards the sky. His laugh was hoarse and dry, coughing as he found his voice. .“You may be more soldier than you know.” He told Razier his humorous expression now replaced with a sharp glare.
The commander looked over quickly at Cyrus who was kicking the root of a tree, “ Boy pay attention, do you not want to learn how to use that necklace of yours”
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Cyrus' head shot up, his left hand on his silver necklace grabbing at the flat star dangling by a hook. Cyrus still holding his necklace walked back next to Razier, as he was walking the commander began his lesson.
“ The most important part of beginning to cultivate is opening your five valves. Your valves are responsible for how much Qi your body uses to do a certain act. There are five valves, one of the valves is in your neck vessel regulating the amount of Qi going to your brain. When you open this valve you will enhance brain function and your senses. Once you open this valve you will have a better perception of your own Qi.”
Cyrus seeing a break quickly in the lesson asked, “When you say vessel are you talking about inside our body like our blood vessels?”
The commander nodded, and this time Razier spoke, “ I don’t understand how we feel for Qi the first time. I know if we can cultivate we already have denser Qi but unlike Cyrus, I’ve never had to use it”
The commander nodded at his question, but shook his head as he answered “ I will help you the first time to open your brain valve, this will allow you to feel your body, the Qi coursing through it, you could say it’s more like your whole body is like your arms and hand. How you can move one finger at a time imagine breathing with one specific lung, or pushing your heart like you’d be able to make a fist”
Both students nodded along as they moved their arms around, making a fist seeming to try and understand, “ I don’t understand, if everyone has valves in their body couldn’t anyone learn to do this”
Both the commander and Razier both shook their heads, “ You need to pay attention,” Razier said.
The commander, on the other hand, wasn’t as pleased, “why do you keep thinking that anyone can cultivate? Is it because you can do you think that lowly or yourself.”
Wonder and fear seemed to cross Cyrus' face as he looked down, “I never really thought of the reason, but I guess I never really thought I could be special, I didn’t even completely believe in cultivation. I’ve never seen someone before and now I am one.” He broke off shaking his head and wiping at his eyes.
The commander shook his head at nobody in particular, as Razier was about to walk over to Cyrus, but the commander waved him back as he spoke looking at Cyrus. “Like we have been saying to you the issue is Qi the reason why we can cultivate is that you have more Qi than your body requires. Most people, who aren’t cultivators have enough Qi that keep them refreshed and their bodies working. Even if they are taught how to feel for Qi they wouldn’t have a valve to remove. .”
Cyrus interrupted, “Only cultivators have valves?“ he asked his brows almost connecting.
“ everyone has Qi and we need it to survive we wouldn’t be able to breathe the air of Qi wasn’t flowing in our blood. Every person has a certain amount of Qi that their body produces and uses. People like me have enough Qi where our bodies use Qi and absorb it from the world to where our body protects itself by creating valves at birth to protect yourself and the mother..”
Razier eyebrows shot up the commander seeing this grinned, “I can see you are already understanding Razier, I bet you would like to thank those tutors for all those lessons you thought were useless.”
Cyrus looked over dejected, yet even more curious about asking Razier to explain, but he was interrupted by the commander, “It’s ok that you don’t understand Cyrus. You haven’t had to study anatomy, or any science theories so you don’t know as much about the world ecosystem, and how it forces us to grow.”
When the commander finished he looked at Cyrus, not speaking again until Cyrus understood. When Cyrus nodded he finally added, “Razier will have an easier time than you, but you cannot trust a diagram of a body to look the same as your own”
This seemed to brighten Cyrus’s mood as he started to fold and unfold his fists again moving his fingers around as he did.
The commander watched them both, letting them feel their bodies, and how it moves. People don’t notice how they breathe until they need to, and it’s very much the same with Qi. You don’t notice the increase in blood flow when you're in danger, yet that is Qi. Yet, once you know the importance of your breath, or how your blood flows you begin to notice things and change them to make your breath better.
The commander allowed them this new look at themselves focusing on places left unnoticed. After about twenty minutes he brought their attention back to himself, “ I will start with Razier first since he doesn’t have an artifact”
The commander walked up to Razier as he got into a Lotus position, “ You will feel a rush of heat in your throat almost like drinking a warm glass of water, at first you won’t notice the head until I touch the pulse on your wrist, which will feel cold allowing for you to distinguish between foreign Qi which will feel cold to you, and the warm Qi which is your own”
Razier instructed Razier into a lotus position, he decided on putting his left leg over his right as he closed his eyes listening to the commander, “The most basic understanding of cultivation is the complete stillness of the mind and spirit(Qi). If you have shot a bow or sat waiting for a hunt it’s that similar feeling. Feel your breath like you're pulling back a bowstring feel the tension of the string and nothing else. You’re sitting in camouflage becoming one mind and spirit with the grass as it blows in the wind. Find the calmness and be still, so still that you will be able to notice the slightest disturbance of change in your heartbeat, your blood flow. Don’t try to change the flow or the beats ride with it until it feels like it’s natural and overflowing endlessly.”
Razier was now completely still for 10 minutes as sweat dripped down his nose with the wind, yet he stood still like a rock on a cliff. After 15 minutes his breath began matching a perfect breath every second. After about 20 minutes sweat dripped from his forehead now, and he began looking flushed yet comfortable.
The commander finally reached for his left hand on the inside of his knees feeling his steady pulse. The commander pressed into his pulse, and as he and Razier sat together for ten minutes the commander's expression was resolute.
As they were in a state of oneness the commander matched his Qi with his pulse. If Cyrus had opened the valve in his throat he would have enhanced his senses, including his sense of sight. He would see a gold flow like a golden river of unseen air going from the commander's hand fighting against an unseen barrier.
He would remember when he first cultivated, and the pressure that Razier was feeling, like his own body was burning from the inside out. Yet, he couldn’t let go or else he could get lost in another’s Qi, a feeling of unending chill.
Back at the tree, Cyrus' breath was ragged, and he looked hot to the touch with steam freely flowing from his skin.
However, something was troubling about the boy as a bronze liquid leaked from his eyes, nose, and mouth. When the commander saw the liquid he began talking to Razier again, “See the Qi Cyrus, find the blockage, the lump in your throat, and push past it as it weakens and disappears..”
More of the bro as the liquid began coming out of his nose, ears, eyes and mouth. Finally, after 15 minutes his body cooled, he his breath began steadying as he woke with an exhilarated breath, like he had just taken his first real breath of air.
Razier smiled as he kept taking deep breaths until suddenly he puked up a brown and bronze liquid as he covered his mouth. “Shit, I forget how bad the blockage smells,” the commander said looking at Razier and Cyrus who both covered their noses, Razier trying not to puke once again.