Willpower is one of the most important attributes for an awakened person to have. The stronger your willpower, the more powerful your techniques and skills become, placing you on even ground with untrained awakeneds a tier or two above you. There are many ways to train willpower, but the most powerful method is meditation, as it gradually imbues the latent will with the will of one’s element or concept.
Research study on the effectiveness of meditation in the cultivation of willpower.
Professor Reidon Elcarus.
Sector 1, Ragnarok. Year 2269
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Aodhán awoke before dawn the next day; he’d fallen asleep almost immediately when he came back from Cairan’s farm, and now, eight hours later, it was just a little past midnight.
Aodhán felt refreshed and alert, and a moment later, he walked into the bathroom to wash off the stress of the previous day. Fifteen minutes later, he was dressed in a black linen shirt and pants.
Having nothing else to do, Aodhán walked out of the house and into Synové Garden, where he sat on the grassy ground and closed his eyes.
During their walk back home yesterday, Aldric mentioned something about meditation and harnessing latent will, but in his fatigued state, he’d barely been able to pay attention.
Now, though, as the wind swirled gently around him and the scent of flowers tickled his nose, the words echoed in his mind like the soft jingle of bells, and he felt his mind descend into his spirit.
His awareness of his surroundings faded, and all that he knew was the steady thumping of his heart as he focused on his core. Every time he’d absorbed cores, he’d felt the energy move through pathways he could barely discern as they traveled towards his core, but now he focused on these pathways.
Time passed, but slowly, the pathways appeared in his mind’s eye; like veins, energy moved through them only to return to his core. They covered his entire body and glowed with black light, speckled with flickering arcs of electricity.
Before too long, the pathways had become as clear as day to him, but now he could feel his core pulsing steadily with each beat of his heart. He focused deeper on his core, and after a very long time, he finally sensed it.
Something akin to a tongue of black flame flickered in his core, and with each pulse, the flame grew larger.
By the time his awareness returned and he could once again sense his surroundings, the flame was almost double the size it once was.
He opened his eyes a few hours later, and found that he was completely soaked with sweat, and a terrible smell emanated from him. An applause rang out, and he turned to see Aldric walking towards him with a smile.
“That’s an insane amount of impurities you’ve expelled, especially for your first time, but it gets easier the more you practice.”
“It was a weird exercise, but it did me a lot of good.” Aodhán agreed, and Aldric nodded.
“You’ve harnessed your latent will, so from now on, it’ll feed your techniques and skills. You’re looking at a definite upgrade.”
Aodhán stared at his sweaty palms and, after a moment, decided to create a storm the way Aldric had advised. He closed his eyes, but he didn’t visualize anything; instead, he said to himself. “There’s a storm cloud in my palms.”
He repeated the words like a mantra, convincing himself that the words were true, and after a few seconds, he cracked an eye open only to see an empty palm.
Aldric tapped his head with a finger, aware of what he’d tried to do. “I told you, Aodhán, you have to believe in your power. It will not truly hear your call if you do not believe in it.”
“Maybe I’ll get it if you show me.”
“Unfortunately, I can’t do that.” Aldric replied, his annoying grin still in place. “My class is conceptual, so you won’t be able to see what I do; just feel it.”
“Still, I would like to know.” Aodhán insisted when suddenly anger roared through him, and he instinctively summoned a bolt of lightning half the length of his arms. The anger disappeared almost immediately, and he sputtered in confusion as Aldric’s grin only widened.
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“What was that?“ Aodhán asked, shaken at the complete loss of control he’d felt a moment ago.
“I’m an empath, Aodhán.” Aldric replied, squatting so he could look him in the eye. “I can feel, control, and manipulate emotions as I please.”
His smile turned upside down as Aodhán paled, and he stood up to leave. “I don’t know why I’m so disappointed; everyone is almost always horrified at first. I just thought maybe you’d be different.”
“No, wait! I’m sorry.” Aodhán replied hurriedly. “I was caught off guard; I didn’t know how to react, but that’s a very…interesting ability to have.”
Aldric turned towards him with a smirk that soon stretched into a grin and said, “Well, congratulations, Aodhán; you’ve won the award for fastest recovery.”
Aodhán sighed and replied, “Look, I need your help. The expedition is tomorrow, and I want to be alive for the celebration that comes after.”
“Aodhán, I’ve advised you; there’s nothing else I can do.”
“But there is.” Aodhán insisted. “Help me believe; you just need to do it once, I swear, and I’ll get it.”
Aldric frowned in contemplation and muttered. “Crazy, but it might actually work.” And a moment later, he added. “Try again.”
Aodhán closed his eyes, exhaled, and thought. There’s a storm cloud above me. Belief exploded within him, and he felt something snap into place.
Energy moved through his pathways, and along with it, a wisp of the flame burned in his core. He opened his eyes to see a storm cloud, many times larger than anything he’d ever created.
It covered an area about 65 feet in diameter, but he felt no strain on his mind. The storm rumbled with thunder, and Aodhán let out a wide smile in response.
Aldric was staring at the storm cloud above him with a shocked expression. He couldn’t believe it had worked; perhaps his abilities weren't completely evil after all.
Daruk stared out of his window at the roiling cloud above him and, with a scoff, shouted. “Show off!”
Aodhán smiled. Now that Aldric had helped him believe, he could summon the storm on his own. He dismissed the cloud above him, and with a thought, another cloud appeared.
He continued practicing until Synové called them in for breakfast. He’d noticed that the more he used his abilities, the more the flame in his core reduced, until it was nothing more than a spark.
When he checked his core after breakfast, though, the flame had grown to half its original size. So, Aodhán added meditation to his routine; the more willpower he had to work with, the better.
After breakfast, Unrid insisted they go to the village blacksmith to get a weapon for themselves, and an hour later, they found themselves in the poorer district of the village.
They moved past a series of shops selling different farm produce, but gradually, the wares changed, turning from eatable produce to the shiny array of metallic utensils and trinkets.
Soon, they reached the blacksmith’s shop, and it echoed with the clanging of hammers on anvils, accompanied by the hiss of steam when the hot metal met water. Rusty bellows wheezed rhythmically, and the occasional sizzle of metal could be heard from within it.
Even standing outside the shop, Aodhán could feel the heat emanating from it, but when they finally entered the shop, the heat nearly gave him a stroke.
The forge glowed red-hot, casting flickering light over the workshop, and the air was thick with the scent of burning coal and heated metal, intermingled with the earthy aroma of oil and grease.
A shirtless man stood by the forge, along with his two apprentices; his calloused hands worked tirelessly, shaping and molding metal with precision. Fire licked his fingers and arms but left no bruise, instantly identifying him as a fire awakened.
Unrid was, of course, fine, but Aodhán and Aldric were sweating buckets. Aodhán wondered why the blacksmith couldn’t display his wares outside the forge, but perhaps this was his way of punishing non-fire-awakened individuals.
One of the apprentices caught sight of them and soon made his way towards them. He looked extremely put-together, and not a bead of sweat could be seen on his forehead.
“Welcome customers, how can I help you?”
“Convince my father to get me out of this heat; I’m dying.” Aldric groaned, and if Aodhán had the strength, he would nod in agreement. Fortunately, the blacksmith wasn’t too cruel, and he had a display room behind the forge.
Aodhán almost collapsed in relief when they finally left the heat of the forge, but Aldric collapsed, dramatically feigning death from heatstroke, and although Unrid said nothing, he almost seemed happy at our discomfort.
“We apologize for the inconvenience, Mr. Brystion. What would you like to buy?”
“Weapons for these two.” Unrid replied, gesturing towards us. “They are part of the expedition into the forest.”
The apprentice’s eye widened in surprise; at this time, the entire village already knew of the expedition. “What sort of weapons do these brave warriors want?”
Aodhán had never used a weapon before except the cutlass they’d used to clear the monastery, but that wasn’t a weapon suitable for fighting monsters.
Aldric asked for a spear, while, after several minutes of deliberation, Aodhán finally decided on a simple sword. The weapons were priced at two silver coins each, and Unrid eagerly paid for them.
The sword Aodhán had requested was a long sword. He knew nothing about its balance or any of the other things he should have known about before buying a sword, but Unrid said it was a good sword, so he took his words for it.
They soon made their way to a merchant selling leather gear, but after thoroughly testing it, Aodhán and Aldric decided that they were better off without the restrictive clothing.
Unrid complained that it was better to be restricted than dead, but they were adamant, and Unrid had no choice but to drop the matter.
After that, there were no other preparations to make for the expedition, so they made their way back home just in time for lunch. After the short meal, Aodhán went up to his room to meditate, hoping to harness more of his willpower, but when he focused on his core, the sight he found shocked him.
The flame was almost double the size it was after his meditation that morning, and even as he watched, it grew an extra inch. Aodhán studied his core for a long time and soon came to the conclusion that he wasn’t harnessing a single flame of willpower, but two.