Year 6985 st (settled time)

The Study at Mammatus Plateau

Terius whispers, “Close your eyes and breathe like I showed you. Take slow breaths, they don’t have to be deep. Be calm.”

Master Leonis Terius is the Dean of Testing and Evaluation. At 48-years-old he’s in peak physical condition. He’s trained with the best masters from every corner of South Cenoka. Making him not only a powerful master of controlling the energies of this world, but also a feared combatant in all the martial arts. In spite of his extensive resume, his appearance is boyish with dirty blond hair, and deep green eyes. He has a strong jaw line and keeps his facial hair to a minimum lending to his youthful appearance.

Also present is Luscin, a student. She’s been struggling to maximize her spirits capabilities. Recent evaluations have revealed a deficiency in her fundamental skills, among them is breathing. Her breathing technique is best described as doing what comes naturally. Unfortunately, her natural breathing is usually panicky and excessive. She’s small for her age, at almost 10 years old she should be around 48 inches, but she’s barely 44. Her weight of 45 pounds is equally behind others of her age. She doesn’t appear to be sickly; the staff supposes it’s due to a combination of genetics and poor nutrition. Her raven black hair is healthy and develops blue streaks in the summer. Her sapphire blue eyes are clear of defect and speak to her overall health. The terrible fit of her school uniform exaggerates her small stature, with the light blue blouse and black pants bunching at her wrists and ankles. If she doesn’t grow into them soon the study will have to pay for a tailor.

Meditative breathing is the first of many respiratory techniques she will need to master if she is going to continue her studies. That duty would normally fall on the Dean of Sight and Sense - Master Vania Adara; but her current class load has prevented Master Adara from dedicating one on one time. Ordinarily the Head Dean of Mammatus Study – Master Fallon Gale would allow a struggling student to wash out, but Luscin’s late start and incredible talent could make that a dangerous proposition. Defender Luscin could be an incredible ally. Luscin the Duelist would be a waste of her potential and dangerous to anyone around her. The responsibility of catching her up has fallen on the shoulders of Terius.

Luscin’s solitary nature presents an additional challenge; her desire to blend into the student body prevents her from asking for help. More than half of the students finding their way to studies like the one here in Mammatus are orphans living on their own. Many are as young as five years when found. Luscin lived on the streets for much of her life and will be ten soon. She’s a fast learner, which explains her many accomplishments, but her late start has her lacking in some of the most rudimentary skills.

Luscin opens her eyes and grumpily says, “I get dizzy when I do it your way.”

“You’re breathing too fast if you feel dizzy. Slow down, you’ll become proficient in time.”

“I already know how to breathe; I’ve been doing it my whole life.”

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“Yes, you’ve made that point in the past and you’ve been doing it wrong all that time. Do as I say, and you’ll learn how to breathe correctly, you’ll increase your endurance, heal faster, be stronger, and hold more power.” Terius continues after a slight pause, “Close your eyes and breathe as I demonstrated.”

Luscin’s recalcitrant attitude aside, was trying. Her aversion to being noticed is all but gone in one-on-one situations.

Both of them sat quietly in the center of Master Terius’s office, the hard floor made comfortable by floor mats. Legs tucked under, backs straight, hands loosely at their sides, eyes closed, mind centered, bodies balanced, breathing. Not synchronized as one might expect. Luscin is smaller and younger, her body has different needs, and her heart and lungs have different capabilities than the fully grown man coaching her now. Each person must find their own rhythm for each breathing technique, adjusting them as they grow and age.

A light tapping on the door breaks the silence. Luscin knows better than to respond, she pretends to continue meditating, her breathing stays steady, she doesn’t so much as tense a muscle while simultaneously straining to hear whoever is at the door.

While standing up Terius softly says, “Continue, your mediative breathing while I attend to Master Robles.”

Luscin knows how Master Terius can tell who is knocking, and she can do it too when she needs to but not on demand like a Master.

Another round of tapping is cut short as Terius gently opens his office door. He steps back with a slight shuffle as he pulls the door open and waits for his old friend Master Robles to speak.

Robles takes in the scene and realizes he’s interrupting a lesson. He quietly speaks, “It’s him again. You’re needed down in the kitchen, and fast. He was already past my limit by the time I was called.  I can take over here until you return.”

“Can you, book worm? It’s a breathing exercise, practically physical activity. You could hurt yourself,” whispers Terius.

Dean of Shell Theory – Master Paras Robles indulges himself with an eye roll before pushing past his friend.

“Try not to explode.” Murmurs Robles as he crosses the room and takes his place across from the student.

Seeing one of the two study’s special-case students is on course and safe, Master Terius quietly steps into the hall; closing his office door behind him, before rushing to the kitchen to prevent the other from exploding.

In Terius’s office, Master Robles uses his best fake whisper, “He’s gone to the kitchen, where your boyfriend is at it again. But that’s no excuse to fake your lesson.”

Luscin a little bitter that she was caught out so easily whispers back, “I am meditating and he’s my husband, not my boyfriend.”

“You’re right about the later but wrong on the former. Simply declaring you’re married doesn’t make it so. As for meditating, your thoughts have been anything but calm from the moment I tapped on the door. This is a breathing lesson; it starts with meditative breathing, for you to learn you need to meditate. Stop paying attention to everything around you and draw down your thoughts to one topic. Something you care about, your thoughts can wander from there, but keep them on a single path. No questions. Try to think about a favorite thing and breathe.”

“I thought meditating was blanking your mind; thinking about nothing.”

“Some see it that way. I’ve never been able to stop my thoughts. I love teaching theory, so I meditate by thinking about my favorites. You should try something like that. You can start by making a list of favorite categories. Follow that with breaking each category into a subset of ideas based on the parent category… I’m over explaining. Pick a favorite idea, place, person, or thing and think about it.”

Luscin didn’t think she had a favorite anything but was willing to give it a try. She likes the Study; she decides to picture the hallways and rooms. Empty, early morning, nobody around; just her and the study. She breathes.