On the way back, Galather and Rydel didn’t speak. There was a certain peaceful ambiance on their walk. Something that Rydel would come to long for in the incoming years.
Galather left when they reached the front door of Rydel’s home. Rydel now had to explain what had happened to his father.
Edyrm was very understanding and congratulated him. That same evening they celebrated with a small feast that his father was quick to procure. That night, Rydel went to sleep with warm feelings and an even warmer stomach.
The next day, Rydel went to the school as usual. He was confused because his classes didn’t suffer any changes. He had to study elven culture and traditions. Rydel didn’t forget to give his teacher the stinky eye, but he was properly ignored.
It wasn’t until noon, when the classes ended, that Galather asked Rydel to follow him to the next floor. Until now, he has only been on the first floor, the layout of the second floor was completely different.
There was a big living room with soft-looking couches, and a corridor that led to a bathroom with a big bath in the center. It also led to a room that was filled with sealed buckets.
Rydel followed Galather to the bathroom with some confusion. He thought that maybe his teacher wanted him to get cleaned and changed for his training.
“Take off your clothes.” Galather said without any change of expression.
Rydel immediately stepped back, put his arms in front of him for any semblance of protection, and looked at Galather with an extremely wronged gaze.
Galather didn’t explain himself and just went to grab one of the sealed buckets. He murmured a few words and a brief green shimmer appeared. He removed the lid and poured the contents into the bath. He repeated the same process for two additional buckets.
“Your body is too weak to handle the spiritual energy of a pill. We distill the natural properties with the dew that we collect every morning and use it on baths for the weaker warriors.” Galather explained. “There is a formation inscribed to gather the energy inside you.”
Rydel glared at the bath with suspicion. The water was green and it was bubbling. It smelled like wet grass, not a pleasant smell. He focused. He will have to start doing things that he won’t enjoy from now on.
He didn’t want to become a wizened elf in this forest in an uneventful life, he wanted to become strong enough to be able to leave. Rydel renewed his determination.
He still remembered the time that he asked his father to bring him hunting in the forest. His father moved so fast that Rydel only saw a shadow, and that was the bare minimum to contend against the weaker beasts of the peripheries of the village.
He took his clothes off and submerged in the bath. He discovered that he didn’t need to breathe, the spiritual energy was already sustaining him.
The first five minutes the sensation was pleasant, the water was tingling all over his body. As the minutes passed, the sensation kept growing. The energy kept entering him, his cells opened and greedily absorbed every scrap of energy. He was starting to feel full, but the energy seemed excited to finally have an outlet to vent. A raging storm was forming inside him.
He shouted but the only thing that happened was the liquid entering his throat and choking him. He started to suffocate and hyperventilate.
He was bloated but his torment didn’t stop. Five minutes later, he was at his utmost limit, shouting and crying was the only thing he could do. It only made it worse. Finally, a couple of minutes later, Mother Earth seemed to hear his prayers and the torture stopped.
He was lifted and floated in the air for a couple of seconds. He desperately gulped for air while he tried to calm down.
“You were submerged for fifteen minutes. You did well. You absorbed the entire batch of medicine.” Galather calmly said.
Rydel gazed at him with hatred. He didn’t help him, he could have died! Rydel calmed himself down. It wasn’t Galather's fault, he was trying to help him. He needed to sharpen his will, if a little medicinal bath can kill his convictions he will return defeated at the first hurdle.
Rydel examined himself. He was surprised that there was a black goo oozing from his pores. It reeked of absolute death, he gagged.
“Those are impurities that you have accumulated in your life. You will feel lighter, your connection to the Dao will also be strengthened. They don’t increase your stats, each point is more effective now instead.” Galather explained to him. “Now take a bath and rest on the couches outside. You still have to start your training in a while.” With that said, Galather left.
Rydel was completely willing to follow the advice. He had to scrub himself for the better part of an hour to finally feel clean. He donned a bathrobe and melted in the comfy-looking couch. He was exhausted, his eyes were slowly closing. He didn’t battle the drowsiness and just fell asleep.
***
When Rydel woke up, he felt refreshed. He stretched like a cat and rolled over the couch.
“The old fart wasn’t lying when he said that I’d feel lighter. It’s like I’ve lost a huge burden that I didn’t know that I was carrying. My senses are sharper too and my instincts tell me that if I meditate now, I will have double the rewards with half the efforts.” Rydel reflected.
After resting for half an hour more, he left the second floor and went looking for Galather. He was sitting in the garden next to the school with his eyes closed. When Rydel approached, he opened them.
“We will commence your training. We will start building your foundations. We will practice with the sword, as it is the most used weapon in the clan. Let us see if you have compatibility with it.” Galather stated. He went to a nearby rack and picked a wooden sword.
“The sword is versatile, agile and his forms never-ending. The Dao of the Sword is not often practiced but those that dwell on it, are walking calamities. They are existences that have to be thought of as one with their sword. They can transform everything into a sword, from their will to the same air that surrounds us. However, you need to have a particular mindset to embark on that road.” Galather said.
“Does every weapon have an exclusive Dao?” Rydel asked.
“Of course. The Dao is the will of Mother Earth, and therefore, boundless. Everything is contained in her embrace. Keep in mind that even if you use a weapon, it does not mean that you will learn its corresponding Dao. Every person has certain affinities with different Daos. Only if you are fated will you learn or not a specific Dao.” Galather said.
“Weapon-related Daos are rare in general, the sword as the more commonly used weapon is what you have to keep particular attention to. Never forget that a Lancer or an Axeman can be as dangerous.” Galather stressed. “Enough explanations, attack me.”
Rydel took the sword, the length was perfect. He assumed an attack posture, his left foot forward, back hunched, and the blade in parallel to the ground. He put all his strength and slashed Galather.
Galather read him like a book, he didn’t even move from his position. Just a little poke on his forehead and Rydel found himself on the ground.
“Your posture is too open, try again.” Galather said.
He varied his stance a bit and tried again, and again, and again. It didn’t matter if he slashed upwards or downwards if he ran or crawled. The result was a poke on his forehead.
It annoyed him to no end, but after an hour of being repeatedly thrown to the ground, he had enough. He redirected his fury to the sword, he didn’t notice the light green sheen on the blade. Rydel shouted to vent his frustration and this time, he slashed.
Galather moved his index finger and stopped the blade, a drop of blood appeared on the tip, but it quickly moved back like it was an illusion.
“Good, you are not completely worthless. Gathering your spiritual energy in an attack is how real warriors fight.” Galather said.
Rydel was surprised, he had tried multiple times in the past to gather some type of energy, like when he controlled the moonlight. But it was useless, he didn’t know how to do it. He closed his eyes and reminisced about the last slash.
He took his time to put an attack stance. This time, his sword had light green flickers. He stabilized the energy, he willed it to coat the sword. It took him a minute to finally form a light green sheen like before. He took a step forward and the spiritual energy dispersed from the sword.
“You have to keep your concentration. Spiritual energy is not some type of power that you have inside. It is as much a part of you as your limbs are. What you are doing is like rehabilitation, familiarizing yourself until you don’t even have to think about willing its movement.” Galather said.
Rydel tried until he thought that he got the feeling right. It was at that moment that Galather started to break his concentration. Every time that he almost coated the sword, Galather threw him a pebble.
“Too slow, you will already be dead in real combat.” Galather kept telling him.
From the initial minute, after a couple more hours of practice, he was able to reduce it to fifty seconds. Of course, for Galather it wasn’t enough. He even asked Rydel multiple times if he was taking the training seriously.
Rydel wanted to prove him wrong, so as his irritation surged, he redoubled his efforts. They decided to end the practice when it was getting dark. Rydel went back home with a fighting spirit in his eyes.
***
Galather watched the kid training with a wooden sword. He was a little five-year-old elf, nothing more than a snotty brat, but he could see his determination with every swing.
He was 1m tall, he had medium wavy light blue hair and green eyes, just like his mother’s. He was slim, but he could see the hint of muscles that will show up when he grows up.
‘If he does not slacken, he will become a true monster. His raw talent to command spiritual energy at such a young age is incredible, and his stats as an F-grade being are plain cheating. We have to be even stricter with him or he will become a wastrel.’ Galather thought with determination.
‘He could become a pillar of the Elphyra Clan and shoulder some of the Grand Elder’s pressure.’ Galather thought. ‘We have lived in peace for too long, nature always demands balance. Without pressure, the decline of our clan is a foregone conclusion. We need the new generation to stand at the front. If Rydel or any of the Elders break through the D-grade we can even appeal to the High Elves to reduce our taxes.’