“What are Martial Styles, and why were they first developed?” his master said in her usual voice. Even her eyes remained the same, full of warmth, and care. It was as if she did not care whether he would be able to answer correctly or not. But Alnea knew better. With the time that he had spent with her, it was easy for him to see how high her expectations of him were. And he did not wish to disappoint her. So instead of answering her right away, he paused, thought a for a few moments, and then he answered the question.
“Martial Styles are the methods developed by Warriors that allows them to make better, and more efficient use of the Aspects of the Origin Sea. Earlier, before the Martial Styles were developed, Warriors used to Aspects by either summoning them directly, or try brute forcing their way with the Aspects. Some even tried to use their Aspects to enhance the strength of their Acranas, which had its own problems.
“First of all, Arcanas of better Grades, and Ranks, are not something that everyone can get their hands on. And that is even more true as one climbs up the ranks of a Wanderer. Not everyone can bring the Mysteries that they have learned into creating Arcanas. And those who can create Arcanas of higher Grade, and Ranks are well respected people, who don’t usually have time for the lower rungs of the Wanderers.
“So basically, most of the Warriors, at least at the lower levels, that is in the True Warrior Rank, didn’t have access to the Arcanas which could justify the potential of their Aspects. And of the Warriors who did have contact with higher Grade Arcanas, like the Mystic Warriors and above, or other Warriors who had a few connections, most of them found that mastering such powerful Arcanas was not easy.
“Furthermore, using powerful Arcanas can be very draining on one’s Spirit Power, and if the drain of using their Aspects is added on top of it, then the gain in strength cannot justify the consumption of their Spirit Power. That is even more true at the higher Stages in the path of a Warrior, in which they condense Aspect Soul, integrating it with their Spirit World. At that stage, it would be better for the Warriors to just brute force the use of their Aspects, than to waste their Spirit Power on controlling their Aspect Soul to strengthen the power of their Arcanas.
“Thus, back in the days, when there were no Martial Styles, be it the higher Ranked Wanderers, or the lower Ranked Wanderers, no one seemed to be able to use their Aspects to their full potential. It was to address this situation, where even though they had the power, they could not make proper use of it, that some of the most powerful and advanced Warriors came together, and created the first Martial Styles. They were named as such, because of two reasons, the first of which was that they were created by Warriors, and were meant for Warriors.
“As for the other reason, it was because later, through the personal experience of the Warriors who tried out the Martial Styles, it was learned that unlike the Arcanas and Glyphs, the Martial Styles were not universal. A Martial Style that might work for some Warriors, allowing them better control of their Aspects, might just simply not work for others. And even for those whom it worked, the degree to which it worked, how much of the efficiency of the use of the Aspects it raised varied, but it could never be as effective for them, as it was for the ones who had created the Martial Styles.
“It was only then that the Warriors realised that while creating the ways to use their Aspects, they had forgotten to take account of something very important. And that is that every Warrior is different. The way that they Wander the Origin Sea, the way that they communicate with the Origin Sea, and as such, their Aspects, are all completely different.
“There may be some similarities between a few Warriors, and their Aspects, and that is why some Martial Styles worked for them, but in the end, the Aspects of each Warrior, and the style to use them is different. Thus, if Warriors want to use their Aspects in an effective manner, then they must each come with their own ways of handling their Aspects, their own unique Martial Styles.”
“So, can anyone create their own Martial Style?” his master asked, to which, Alnea responded by shaking his head.
“The Warriors who created the first Martial Styles were some of the greatest, and the strongest Warriors of their times. They were able to create their Martial Style because they had been using their Aspects for centuries, some even for thousands of years. When they were creating their Martial Styles, they were just drawing conclusions from their experiences, and finding the correct way of making use of their Aspects. Them being able to create Martial Styles does not mean anyone can create them.
“Still, after the countless years that have passed since the first Martial Styles were created, things have gotten easier for Warriors, or rather, Wanderers in general, and the conditions for creating their own Martial Styles have gotten easier as well. Still, the most basic requirement of creating Martial Style is still there, and that is having an Aspect Ocean. Only when Wanderers have connected their Aspect Wells to form an Aspect Ocean will they be able to form a basic core of their Aspects, around which they can build their own Martial Style.”
“Then what can a Seed like you do?”
“I don’t even have an Aspect Well, let alone an Aspect Ocean, so naturally, I cannot create my own Martial Style. But that does not prevent me from learning the Martial Styles that the others have already created. Doing so will have many benefits, like familiarising myself with how different types of Aspects are utilised, and finding which type of Style, and Aspects suits me the best. If nothing else, they can help me raise the strength of my body and better my foundations.
“Besides all that, the real benefit of learning the Martial Styles created by others in advance is that they can help me get familiar with all the different kinds of Martial Styles, and the nuances involved in them, so that when I do start creating my own Martial Style, I am not completely clueless, and know where to start, and how to go about with it. That will help save me a lot of time, and effort.”
Saying all his part in nearly one breath, Alnea stopped to take a breath, thinking back on what he had said, hoping to have not made a mistake in between. He did not find any, but seeing his master’s stern face, he could not help getting nervous. Especially considering the question that she had asked.
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“This is the seventeenth day I am asking the same questions,” his master said, and Alnea nodded. “And this is the seventh time that you have responded with the same answer. Why is it that even if I have kept asking you the same question every day, not telling you whether your answers are right or wrong, you have responded to me with the same answer every time, Alnea?”
“Because that is the correct answer, master.”
“Then why did you change your answer the first ten times?”
“Because after I went through them, I recognised a few mistakes that I had made earlier. Although they were not completely wrong, they did not satisfy me, and so I changed my answers.”
Looking at him in silence for a few moments, his master finally nodded at him with a smile.
“Ability to recognise your mistakes, and correct them. And the ability to keep sticking to your way when you feel that it is the right one, no matter the external pressure or influence. These are the two other things required to create your own Martial Style. And the things I had been waiting for you to understand by yourself, before allowing you to learn Martial Styles.” After a pause, she added, “You are ready.”
For a few moments, Alnea failed to understand what his master was trying to imply, and did not react at all, looking blankly at her smiling face. In the meantime, his master kept looking at him, with a hint of amusement in her smile, as she reached with her right hand towards the air beside her, which in response to her actions, and her call, started shimmering, and rippling like the surface of water.
Alnea, of course, was not surprised by the sudden appearance of the rippling layer of air near his master, or from how, after his master had pushed her hand towards that rippling air, most of her hand, halfway up to her elbows, vanished in thin air. Because that was a usual sight for him. The rippling, and the shimmering of the air, as well as the disappearance of his master’s hand, was from the manifestation of the Mysteries from his master’s Arcana, ‘Dimensional Pocket’, her personal storage space.
And from within that storage space, his master soon took eight scrolls, before placing them on the table. She did not unfurl them, and neither did she say anything. But she did not have to. As soon as he saw the names written on the cover of the scrolls, Alnea knew what they were, and understood the underlying implications of what his master had said earlier. At that moment, he forgot about everything, and slammed his hands on the table with excitement, as he enthusiastically leaned towards his master.
“Do you really mean it, master?” Alnea said. “Are you finally going to teach me some Martial Styles?”
“Not Martial Styles, but a Martial Style,” his master said, as she put her finger on his forehead, and pushed him back into his place. “At first, you will begin with familiarising yourself with one Martial Style, and only when you have gained a basic mastery in that Martial Style, will we move on to the next Martial Style.” After a slight pause, in which Alnea kept staring at the eight scrolls on the table, she added, “Tell me about the basic classification of the Martial Styles.”
Hearing his master’s question, the big, wide smile on his face disappeared, forcing him to look away from the seven scrolls on the table, and to his master. He had to take this seriously, Alnea thought, as he nodded solemnly to his master, or she might take this as another chance to push back the date of him learning Martial Styles.
“Martial Styles,” Alnea said, taking a deep breath, and using that time to organise his thoughts. “There are two general ways of classifying Martial Styles, one of which focuses on how the Aspects are being utilised, while the other is more concerned about the end results of using the Martial Styles, rather than how the Aspects themselves are being used. Of the two, the latter one is known as the modern way of classification, while the other one, the one focusing on Aspects, is known as the classic way of classification.
“From their names, it is easy to guess that it was the classic way of classification which came first. Rather, just until the previous Union Era, it used to be the only way of classification. It is only in the current Union Era, the Sixth Union Era, that the modern classification has come up. And as is with anything in the world, that development came about because of necessity. At the end of the previous Union Era, when–
“There is no need to go into the history of our world,” his master said. “Just focus on the Martial Styles themselves.”
“Right,” Alnea said with a hesitant nod, hoping that he would not mess up too badly, while correcting, and realigning his thoughts, before continuing with his answer. “So, after the previous Union Era came to an end, the views of the Warriors regarding the Martial Styles came into a conflict. Especially considering the devastation that the Supreme Warrior, Erioni Michazzani, had left behind at the end of the previous Era. In the end, the differences in views of the Warriors reached a breaking point, until finally the Warriors became divided into two schools of thought, the modern way, and the classic way.
“In the classic way, the classification of the Martial Styles continued as it had been coming down since the ancient times, by depending on how the Aspects are being utilised, classifying all the Martial Styles in five types; Armour, Weapon, Summoning, Casting, and Auxiliary. Of course, there could also be a mix and match of the different types in just one style, but that is how the classification of the Martial Styles is done in the classic way.
“In the modern classification on the other hand, the classification of Martial Styles changed, and became more focussed on the end effects of the Martial Styles. This resulted in the Warriors creating Martial Styles while focussing more on their effects, rather than how they utilised the Aspects themselves. Thus, not only did the number of the types of Martial Styles increase, but the complexity of their classification increased as well.
“This has resulted in the Warriors coming with a rough, and general way of classifying the Martial Style based on their specialisations, classifying the Martial Styles into eight specialisations; Strength, Speed, Defence, Agility, Stamina, Stealth, Sensory, and Auxiliary. Of them, the first four specialisations of Martial Styles focus more on the fighting capabilities of the Wanderers, while the latter four focus more on the surviving capabilities of Wanderers.
“That does not however mean that the purpose of these types of Martial Styles are all fixed. Or even that the Martial Styles just focus on one specialisation. It may also be the case that other than that eight universally recognised specialisation, there are other unique specialisations, after all, the Aspects of all the Warriors are all unique, as is their Martial Style. Still, if we look at their end effects, and the way that the Martial Styles are making use of the Aspects, then we can classify almost all of the Martial Styles in the world.”
“That’s good enough,” his master said, nodding in satisfaction, allowing Alnea to let out a sigh of relief. But his master was not done with him though, as she soon followed with another question.