Another day had gone by traversing the depths of the jungle. Laurel had led them to a small glen surrounding a crystal clear pool, in the center of which was a tiny island with a few bushes growing on it. She had forced Trip to harvest the Thousand Year Seed they had found in the center. A life attuned natural treasure wasn’t particularly good for defense, but it would be invaluable for the health of the population. The snake that launched out of the water at Trip as he was trying to jump back to shore had also been a great example of the importance of maintaining their spiritual awareness.
Now they had reached the true center of the jungle. The mana was rich and heavy, Laurel felt she could almost breathe it in. Flourishing growth obscured any sightlines they might have had. Her senses could feel swarms of spirit beasts in the area. Most were giving way and so she let them be, but it was a peculiar state. She was relying on her senses and reflexes in case something truly dangerous decided to approach the group. Pushing aside one particularly stubborn branch, the group staggered into another small clearing. The trees had grown tall enough that only a few dappled sunbeams made it to the forest floor. It was enough to illuminate the silhouette of the jaguar sitting before them.
Without the evidence of her own eyes, Laurel would not have believed the cat was there at all. Its tail lazily swiped back and forth as it yawned, showing off razor sharp fangs. Intelligence sparked in dark eyes. A veil strong enough to hide from her own senses meant they were in the presence of yet another master-level beast. Why so many of those had been showing up recently was a question for another day. They were looking at the queen of this jungle.
Laurel considered options. She was confident in her own skills to defeat the beast. But they were deep in its territory. Several powerful beasts were circling the vicinity, enough to put the rest of the group in serious danger if she was distracted fighting the cat. On the other hand, the best treasures of the forest were in this region. Treasures they needed to keep Verilia safe and advance it to a World Capital. She had become more and more concerned since their encounter in the valley. If the group that had sealed her away still existed, and all evidence suggested that was the case, they might be trying to do something similar again. They would not sit idly by while Laurel’s sect became more powerful. An established World Capital would mean the cosmic mana flows were too well-anchored to ever cut off. Every scrap of defense and utility they could eke out of this first trip would be crucial. The jaguar was still watching them, while the rest of her party was looking between her and the cat. Laurel decided to take a chance that since it hadn’t attacked immediately, it might be reasoned with.
“Greetings to the ruler of the Oudigan Jungle,” she said with a tilt of her head, stopping short of an actual bow. The words didn’t perfectly translate to the modern language, but the meaning remained the same. She was taking a risk that the ancient traditions she had been taught really were deeply ingrained in the instincts of spirit beasts, and not a whim of her elders. The language wasn’t supposed to matter, but many of the rules had been rewritten in the centuries since cultivators held sway over the world.
“Greetings to the cultivators.” The words came through in the sibilant hiss of spirit beasts. Felt in the spirit as much as heard. All of them except Leander shied away at the first contact with a spirit beast. The boy looked intrigued. On reflection that made sense, he didn’t have the same relationship to spoken words as the rest.
“We are representatives of the Eternal Archive and the Meristan military, on an expedition to strengthen our home with the treasures of the world. We seek to share in your home’s bounty.”
“You are not the first to come seeking to pillage our home. The last fed my family. Why should you all not meet the same fate?”
“For the same reasons that kept you from attacking us when we entered the core of the forest. Cultivators will continue to come. If the others you saw are the same we ran into, they took without regard for the future. We come with respect for your home, and will not take anything that cannot be replenished. Cultivators will always seek out this place. Working together now will avoid catastrophe in future.”
The spirit beast looked across the group. Leander clutching the orchid pot next to Rebecca, who looked pleasantly surprised by a talking cat. The soldiers' hands were drifting towards their weapons, looking around the small glade, but none had made a move yet. Laurel dropped her own veil to let her cultivation show. She might be willing to work with the spirit beast, but it shouldn’t think them undefended should it come to a battle. It was hard to tell, but she expected the monster was more focused on stealth or illusions rather than offensive capabilities. Not that any master spirit beast should be written off, but Laurel would have an edge in a fight.
“Very well. I will allow three of you to be tested by the forest. What you find you may take, if done so respectfully.”
“We agree. Fair bargain, well struck.” Laurel smiled and looked over the group.
She would remain, of course, as a deterrent to the cat simply changing her mind about the cultivators allowed in her domain. Laurel also didn’t need the benefits of such a journey. This was the type of experience that forged a young initiate, helped them reach into the depths of their character. Laurel’s path was more established. She knew who she was and who she wanted to become, and was doing the long work to get there. The children would use this to define how they moved forward.
The orchid and the other plant from the valley were already her way of helping Leander without pushing him too much in one direction. The kid obviously wanted to be part of a family and nurture a sect. It had taken her and Adam months of reassurance for him to believe he wouldn’t be tossed out immediately, and she wasn’t sure they were fully there. There were worse ideas to center cultivation around. And it would be an easy one to segue into the combat techniques he was itching for. He could stay with her for this one. Rebecca was another story. The stunt in Lanport was evidence enough that she was still dealing with her past. Maybe this would be an opportunity to refocus and find what she wanted for her future. The soldiers were harder. It was no longer her responsibility to teach them, but she still cared about their progress. Trip seemed the most focused when it came to his cultivation. He wanted to be an enchanter of some sort, tinkering with his plane and weapons for the military. Communing with nature was not what he needed. The other two were harder for her to read. They had joined the lessons because they were told to. Reina was fascinated by the process and Reynard was easy going enough but Laurel had no idea what, if anything they wanted to do with their cultivation.
“Rebecca, Reina, Reynard, you three will take the trial set by…” she paused and looked at the jaguar.
“I call myself Saralhasa. As you say. Step forward and enter the paths. May you rise to meet the trials within.”
The others had no time to prepare and walked forward, Rebecca clutching her staff nervously and the others with a bit more swagger. Three openings had appeared in the tree line, one for each of the initiates and they entered the gloom. The plant life closed the way afterwards. When the others were out of sight, Leander turned an accusing stare at Laurel, hugging the pot in his arms a little closer. She sighed, this was the downside to making all the decisions.
“This is not what you need. You're closer to deciding what you want to do, right?” He reluctantly agreed. “The others are still figuring out their paths, you are almost ready to begin walking your own. I know you want to help but they need to do this alone. Besides, we’ll have plenty of fun here.” She produced some chairs, a table, and an entire tea set, along with a wider bowl.
“Saralhasa I’d be fascinated to hear all about the last few years in this part of the world if you would like to share. Or your opinions on cultivation.”
*******
The trees and vines that had been bothersome but ultimately unimportant obstacles when Laurel was leading the way now loomed ominously over Rebecca as she walked. Somehow there was a path, but it only extended a few meters in front of her and behind, then the plants swallowed up the rest. It was dark. There had been plenty of sun on their trek into the forest and in the clearing, but now only the bare minimum sunlight needed to walk without stumbling reached her. Fishing her necklace out of her tunic, she directed some mana to it. The arrow lit up and pointed towards the safety of the sect house, so far away. She couldn’t keep it up for ever, but it was enough to keep the panic away for now. Of all the people Laurel could have made do this, why her? Leander liked all the adventures and the soldiers were trained for dangerous situations. The traveling around had been fun, but the fights they’d seen so far were terrifying. Her thoughts flashed back to the cultivators that tried to kill them and the desperation she felt fighting them off with what was basically a stick. Her mind tried to go even further back but she wrenched it back to the present. Those memories weren’t going to help.
She kept going. There were no instructions on what she was supposed to do or look for. The giant predator Laurel had been talking to like a common house cat said they would be challenged by the jungle to see what they could find. So she was on the path but what was the challenge? Going into the unknown for the sect was challenging enough but she doubted that would earn her anything useful for the city.
Up ahead, the foliage cleared to reveal a fork in the path. Rebecca hesitated, looking down the left and right as far as she could see, but finding them identical. Martin’s voice from training sessions echoed through her mind, chiding her that only fools relied solely on their eyes when they had the rest of their senses and their spirit to use as well. Eyes closed, she felt along each path. The right felt solid. Safe. The left was murkier, she couldn’t get a clear idea of it but it gave off a dangerous sensation. The contrast might mean the right was the correct choice. Maybe the test was to follow her senses to the treasure. Or maybe she was supposed to take a chance on the less safe path. She hated this. There had already been enough years in her life where every action was a test. Constantly second guessing what the right answer to a question was to cause the least anger. Doing everything the way she was told and then being torn down when it was somehow still wrong. Around and around, the memories swirled.
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She plunged down the left path. That wasn’t her anymore. No more bullies would have her at their mercy. The trail narrowed and started winding back and forth. Rebecca had left her spiritual senses open and the sense of foreboding got worse. A quick glance back confirmed retreat was not an option, the path ended only a few meters back. Her hands were sweating on the staff and she wiped them on her trousers. Wanting anything to distract herself she focused on the pants. She had always worn skirts before the sect but Laurel preferred pants, and had made it clear dresses would not be a good idea in the wilderness. There were options at home, since Annette had a whole range of uniforms. The inane thoughts kept coming. She was glad Leander was taking care of the orchid because she hated gardening and was glad that was no longer one of her chores. Adam made them read history, which she didn’t mind, maybe she could work in the library more when she got back.
The intrusions crescendoed with the rising sense of danger until, without warning, both cut out. A wall of leaves had appeared at the end of the path. Her anxiety was still present, but whatever had been driving it to unmanageable levels had stopped. Rebecca slowly approached the greenery. A few white flowers dotted the wall in small clusters. Maybe someone like Laurel, who knew how to talk to magic monsters, would understand the pattern, but she just thought it looked nice. Hesitantly, her hand reached out. Nothing bit her, or leapt out when she made contact with the vines. Grasping a handful, she carefully pushed them to the side. Suddenly the earth beneath her heaved and she stumbled forward.
Noise came first. Then an almost blinding amount of sunlight. A cacophony of screeches, squawks, yelps, and clicks assaulted her ears. There was no way it should have been quiet only a meter away behind the vines. Next she realized she was in the midst of an all out battle. The cat, or the forest or someone, had dumped her into the largest clearing she had seen since forest had started dominating the skyline. It was full of creatures, spirit beasts, and they were all fighting. Brightly colored birds clashed with lizards. Smaller mammals and snakes fought some large rodent thing. In the distance she even saw a fish with teeth shooting water at its rivals on land.
It was chaos, but none of them had noticed her yet. Without taking her eyes off the scene before her, she reached back and groped for the vines that had concealed this place. Her hand found tree bark instead. A quick glance told her the hole she’d entered through was sealed. Looking around the edges of the clearing she could see nowhere the trees thinned or the dense underbrush had a gap she might crawl through. While she searched, the edge directly across from her disgorged some furred creature with long claws. It ambled forward slowly until a fast-diving bird attempted to peck at it. The hands whipped out faster than it should be able to, and batted the bird aside as the new contestant joined the fray.
Paralyzed by uncertainty, she could only watch. There was no way out, and she wasn’t confident in putting her staff against fangs or claws. She tried using her spiritual senses again for another hint, but that just told her the animals were all spirit beasts. To her left a small monkey was pushed out of the forest. It was much smaller than most of the other animals, and to Rebecca’s naive senses, weaker. Startling yellow eyes peered out from a white face, while the rest of its body was covered in a gray fur that looked extremely soft to the touch. It had a remarkable tail, standing vertical behind the beast, with black and white stripes along its entire length. Rebecca noted all of that, but what stuck out the most was a sense of fear she saw in the animal. She recognized the hunched posture and darting eyes as it looked for an escape.
A black snake thicker around than Rebecca’s arm slithered forward next to a large bird with drab brown feathers and vicious talons. The two ignored each other in a temporary alliance while they approached the little monkey. She saw a drop of blood fall from the hawk’s beak. The monkey looked around for an escape, but the curve of the forest and the angles of the approaching predators meant there was nowhere for it to go. None of the animals had noticed Rebecca as she watched the end of the little beast’s life approach. She would have sworn the look on the snake’s face was a sinister smile. Because those animals had sharp teeth or claws they would push around the littler spirit beasts.
Something snapped inside Rebecca. As the aggressive animals lunged in towards the monkey, she jumped in between them. Her staff swung out, catchin the snake in the side and causing the hawk to hop back. Feet set, hands no longer shaking, she swung the staff back and forth to keep them away.
“No! Stay back!” She was screaming, incoherent. The only thought she could focus on was keeping the bullies away. In the corner of her eye she saw another opening appear in the tree line. Without pausing to consider she turned and scooped up her new friend, and dove through before it could close. She fell onto her hands and knees, panting and shaking. She forced herself back to her feet and turned around. Another green wall of vines, speckled with pretty white flowers. The sounds of fighting had been completely cut off and Rebecca was alone with the little spirit beast, which was staring back at her. There were no other options so she started following the trail once more. Every few minutes she turned and found the monkey still behind her. It wasn’t aggressive so she followed Laurel’s example and left it there.
By degrees, the light returned to the jungle. Noticing she could see without her homing stone, Rebecca sped up. A gap appeared at the end of her section of trail, but it was too late for her to stop, and she ran forward into the clearing they’d started in. She almost sobbed seeing Laurel, but stopped when she realized her sectmaster was having tea with the jaguar. Looking around, Leander was staring at a flower in the corner while Trip was sitting with Reina and Reynard, both of whom were holding a jade box. The sight jogged her memory and sent a pang through her. She was here for a reason and she hadn’t found anything helpful; she’d barely even thought of it after the first part of the walk. Her heart was still racing when the cat started doing the confusing talking/not-talking thing.
“Welcome back child. Did you find what you sought in my realm?”
Rebecca glanced from the cat to Laurel and back again. They were somehow making the same expression, despite being entirely different species.
“I - I didn’t find any natural treasures.” She could barely make eye contact with Laurel.
“That is not what I asked,” Saralhasa said.
“I don’t know about that.” Laurel interrupted at the same time. “It looks like you made a new friend.”
Looking down, the monkey she had defended had followed her into the clearing. It was huddled behind her legs, keeping Rebecca’s body firmly between itself and the master cultivator and spirit beast.
“The monkey followed me back…”
“The lemur,” she noted the extra emphasis on the species, “was inspired to follow you.” The cat stalked closer and Rebecca realized it was quite a bit bigger than her initial impressions. A look at Laurel showed the older woman unconcerned, watching the scene unfold while sipping tea and smiling ear to ear.
“You chose the path of the wild over the path of civilization. You showed courage in the face of danger, and compassion to one weaker than you. I will make a deal with you, human. A natural treasure from the jungle, but you will absorb it here.”
Laurel was still smiling but not offering any help as Rebecca stood in front of Saralhasa. Absorbing a natural treasure could give an aspect to her mana, or a special power, according to her lessons. Did she want that? There had only been a few days to even start thinking of what kind of cultivator she wanted to be. It wasn’t clear how much time she had spent wandering, but it looked like the sun was setting. She thought about how the whole experience had felt. Terrifying, exhilarating, and at the end, a spark of the person she wished she was.
“I accept.”
From behind Rebecca something floated out of the forest. A piece of dark wood, looking like a tangled knot of vines. As it drifted into her hands she could feel a deep thrum of mana, an echo of the battle she had witnessed. The longer she looked the more she saw in the wood grain, or perhaps the grain shifted as she stared.
“A Heart of the Wild. We offer our thanks, Saralhasa.”
“Rebecca, it will aspect your mana with the idea of the wild.’’ Rebecca jumped, not having noticed as Laurel appeared next to her. “Get comfortable, it will take a while.”
Rebecca found a tree to lean against and sat down in a meditative pose to listen to Laurel’s instruction. The cat was watching as well, apparently deeming her anxiety an interesting show.
“You’ll want to use this natural treasure to aspect your mana, it’s a simple process, but simple is not necessarily easy. Focus on the circulation of your mana. When you’ve internalized the rhythm, send a tendril into the Heart, then try and pull another tendril from the Heart back into your body. You want it to form a complete cycle. Then keep going until you can’t push or pull anymore.”
“Is this going to hurt the same as the meridians?”
“No, no. There’s going to be a bit of a bite, with a wild aspect, but nothing like that. Get started and I’ll keep an eye to make sure things are going well.”
That wasn’t reassuring, but Rebecca started cultivating anyway. As instructed, when she was comfortable, she reached out to the wood, still warm in her hands. It greedily drank in her mana. When she tried to pull mana back out to complete the cycle, she ran into trouble. The Heart did not want to give any mana back. She pushed and clawed with her mind and then she was back in the battle. Claws, fangs, tusks tore into her, if felt like the world itself was bearing down on her, rejecting her as too far removed, too civilized, to become part of the wild. Sweat dripped down her face, she couldn’t stop. Laurel hadn’t mentioned what would happen but if it hurt this much now, stopping would definitely be worse.
Her entire being bent to the purpose. Slowly, almost too slowly for her to realize, mana began to drip from the Heart into her own channels. Encouraged, she pulled even harder. The drip became a trickle and then a torrent. Rebecca frantically cycled, barely keeping control of her mana as it sped through her body. She was lost to the flow and had to hang on as best she could. Eventually the mana slowed back down. The Heart stopped pulling any of her own mana in and she couldn’t pull any more out. Blinking, she opened her eyes.
Laurel was sitting right in front of her, illuminated by the moonlight bathing the glen. Rebecca’s head jerked back only to realize Saralhasa was on her left. Flinching from both of the masters left her sprawled awkwardly on her side.
“Well done! Now eat this and get some sleep.”
Those words unlocked something and Rebecca’s stomach let out a growl that would have been at home in her adventure earlier in the day. She devoured the bowl Laurel handed her and stumbled to bed.
*******
Laurel was thrilled with their journey through the jungle, and not hiding it. The water and wood natural treasures Reina and Reynard had picked up would do wonders for the city. Even a coastal city could make use of a freshwater treasure, keeping drinking water safe or something else, and the wood treasure could be used as part of a flexible shield or strengthening all of the buildings made from the same material. Whatever, there would be options. She stayed awake for the evening, cultivating and practicing her blade forms. Breakfast was thus prepared before anyone woke up the next day.
“Thank you for the hospitality Saralhasa. I hope in future we will work together again, and that my students may be welcome in your realm.”
“Those who treat the land with respect will be allowed entry. Those that do not will have no need to concern themselves with the consequences.”
Laurel gave the spirit beast a bow she would give to an equal, it was a fair warning and anyone she sent here would gain much if they could show respect. She turned to lead the party back to the planes and the rest of the group.
“I believe you are forgetting something,” Saralhasa spoke up as they were leaving the clearing.
The lemur from the previous day scampered up to the group and climbed up to Rebecca’s shoulder.
“He has thrown his lot in with yours, cub.”
Rebecca gave an awkward bow to the jaguar, copying what Laurel had done. “I’ll keep him safe.”
With that they were able to depart. It was easier to leave the area than enter it, the jaguar's subtle influence easier to read now that they were not marked as enemies, and it was only two days later that they had met up with the rest of the group.