Potency and mastery

The Inductees were once again sitting on the leather pads of the ritual room with Brother Haggerty. The man looked intimidating as always. Although the Inductees had gotten fairy comfortable with the man, Cain still found his outwards appearance jarring at times. Even though Cain saw him every day.

All the Inductees had progressed exceptionally with their Blessings. Now, many of the other Inductees had grasped that power, soft glows emanating from many of their bodies. The pleasant white shine of Fa's blessing illuminated the room. Unfortunately, there were still a couple that had trouble bringing about that strength. One of those Inductees happened to be Cain.

Cain's eyes were gently closed, as he focused on the strength within in. He could now meditate almost at will. His breathing was even, his body relaxed, his mind clear. Compared to the first lesson with Brother Haggerty, his sensitivity towards the Blessing had increased dramatically. The power at his navel was a lot stronger, Cain could simply feel it. He could tell he was on the verge of a breakthrough. The only other that had yet to commune with Fa within his squadron was Horrow. Out of all people, Cain expected him to be one of the first to unlock the deity's power. Cain did have a theory.

As Horrow hailed from the central continent, he wouldn't be surprised if the young noble had already communed with a different deity: Hela. Just as Eleni had already seemed to have taken part of Fa's ritual, Horrow probably had already taken part in Hela's. Brother Haggerty had informed them the first lesson that attempting to commune with two deities was incredibly difficult. If successful in receiving Fa's Blessing, he would most likely lose Hela's. Or he would be unable to commune with Fa at all. Still, Horrow was just as focused as Cain. Cain believed that today would be the last attempt for both of them. They would either commune with Fa or fail.

Cain was not worried however. Because in that exact moment, the whispers in his ears suddenly grew louder. And that power that had always been elusive to him, just slipping through his fingers, seemed to settle within his body, solidifying. And then that power spread out, filling every centimeter of his body with a soothing warmth. Cain's eyes fluttered open to the Blessing's illumination spilling from his skin. He smiled.

Finally.

The feeling was simultaneously foreign and familiar. It was as if he had finally reunited with a part of him that he had lost a long time ago. Even though that part of him was completely new. If Cain focused, he could feel the Blessing reacting to his commands. He had finally unlocked the Blessing.

Cain looked over to Eleni smiling at him. She gave him a look of pride. Cain flashed her a smile. Horrow continued to meditate. Brother Haggerty began to talk in a hushed tone.

"For the Inductees meditating, continue to do so. For the others, congratulations on communing with Fa. You all have achieved the first step of as a true follower. You now carry Fa's will. Before we progress, I would like to teach you more about Blessings.

"There are stages to Blessings. Ranks you could say. Once you graduate, you will no longer be referred as Inductee. Instead, you will be referred to the title that indicates your Blessing's potency. For each Blessing, there are three stages. The first stage of potency is the one you have all now reached. Communing with Fa and wielding his Blessing is the stage all Novices reach. If you were to be deployed at this time, you would be called Novices. The next stage is determined by the maturity of your Blessing. As you progress with the ritual, you will feel your powers grow. This is visibly indicated my color of your Blessing changing to yellow. Once, this stage is achieved, your title would be Templar. Most followers reach the Templar stage at some point of their lives

"Finally, the Vicars. They represent those who achieve the absolute pinnacle of Blessing potency. Their auras glow green. These followers have incredibly powerful Blessings. They are extremely rare, most Vicars occupying high ranking posts at Forts. Many noble families also appoint Vicars as commanders of their armies."

Cain looked down at his own aura. It shone with the pure whiteness of the moon. He still had a long way to go.

"Of course, the Chosen are a level even above Vicars. But I won't be going into them. One thing to know is that the color of their auras are bright red. If you ever see a red glow on the battlefield, steer clear."

The Inductees all looked at Eleni. If anything, she was probably the closest to becoming a Templar.

"I myself am a Novice. I served at the Line like any of our ancestors but never managed to break through to the Templar stage, much to my dismay. I mentioned before that Fa seems to bless people differently. It seems I was born unlucky."

He gave them a sad smile. Cain was surprised. As such a holy man, devout to Fa and the studies of the deities, Brother Haggerty was the last person he expected to not break through to the Vicar stage.

"But do not fear. There is a reason why I was appointed to be Head Instructor, even as a Novice. Your Blessing's potency is not the deciding factor in being a good fighter. I would argue that your ability to wield your Blessing is even more important than its strength. This is what I will be teaching from our next lesson. How to effectively wield one's Blessing.

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"There a myriad of things you can do with your Blessing. Its most basic form simply covers your entire body. But then its power is spread thin. So why not attempt to focus its strength in one spot?"

His body was glowing white just like the Inductees. But just like his first lesson with them, the energy suddenly shifted to his hand. The Blessing shone even brighter, forming around his closed fist. Then it moved across down his arm, across his chest, and into his other hand.

"When you concentrate your Blessing, you will see it becomes much more potent. The smaller the area, the greater its protective capacity. I can personally condense my Blessing into an area smaller than a coin. If I condense my Blessing like I showed you, I can even block an attack from a Nomal. In this aspect, my Blessing can produce the same effect as a Templar's Blessing. Perhaps even greater."

Cain raised an eyebrow.

How strong are these Nomal?

"You can assume that if you condense your Blessing to approximately a quarter its original size, it would have the same potency as a Templar leaving his Blessing in its natural state. Similarity, this logic can be applied to Templars and Vicars. Only with the Chosen does this not apply. Only Chosen can fight Chosen, remember that.

"This is the way I like to see it. A follower's stage merely represents his potential. In order to fulfil your potential, you must train wielding your Blessing in battle. The many scars on my body is evidence to my efforts. No matter what stage you reach, do not fear. A competent fighter is not determined by their potency, but by their mastery."

He gave them a reassuring smile.

"One last thing. There is no one way to progress between stages. Some do while continuing to perform the ritual. Others do in the heat of battle. As long as your faith in Fa does not waver, he will bless you with his strength."

Cain couldn't help but feel pity for the man. He had been hung out to dry by his deity. Cain just hoped he would be luckier than Brother Haggerty.

I've been dealt a bad enough hand in life. Fa, at least let me become a Templar.

"With our remaining time, try to condense your Blessings. It will be challenging at first. But as time progresses, you will see that it becomes more and more natural. Almost an afterthought. The speed at which you can do it will increase too. In mastering your Blessing, patience will be your greatest ally. Do not rush the process."

Cain attempted to try to condense his Blessing towards his chest. He furrowed his brow in concentration, yet the Blessing refused to coalesce. After a couple tries, he realized it was going to be a lot harder than he thought. Some of the Inductees were already showing signs of progress. Jorn had managed to condense his Blessing slightly, the glow from his right hand seeming to disappear into the rest of his Blessing. Eleni's Blessing had completely left her arms.

Damned geniuses.

To be fair, he had just unlocked his Blessing. Cain let out an audible sigh. He would have to play catch up once again.

As the day's lesson began to end, Brother Haggerty excused himself first, saying to had business to attend to. He urged the Inductees to stay if they desired and to simply not be late for dinner. Slowly, the Inductees started filling out of the room, glad to finally be done with the day. After a couple more attempts to manipulate his Blessing, he gave up.

Tomorrow perhaps.

He noticed that in his concentration, he hadn't seen almost everyone leave the room. As he got up to leave, he saw that Horrow was still sitting on his pad meditating. Cain turned to leave the room. He contemplated patting Horrow on the back, but decided against it.

I shouldn't bother him. Wouldn't want to break his concentration.

Cain silently walked past his friend, opening the door to leave. He gave Horrow one last glance before gently closing the door behind him.

Horrow continued to sit in silence. His entire was body was still, his mind in a trance. He sat there for a minute, then an hour. The muffled sounds of the Inductees' cheerful dining seeped through the room's wooden doorframe. Yet, Horrow didn't react.

After seemingly forever, Horrow's eyes suddenly burst open. From his skin, a glow started to permeate. It started dim but soon began to grow in brightness. More and more each second. Greater even than Brother Haggerty's example of a condensed Blessing. Soon, he shone like a beacon, a lone figure lighting up every corner of the room. The white light overpowered the room's many candles. The usually dark stone ritual room was now unbearably bright. Horrow's shine leaked through the doorframe. Any passerby would have easily noticed the unusual bright light that shone through the doorway's cracks. Yet the hallway beyond was empty as it usually was that hour.

Horrow stared at his body in surprise. He raised his hands to his face, overwhelmed by the overflowing power coursing through his body. The radiance of his Blessing was unnatural for a beginner amongst Novices. His Blessing was not condensed in any way. The amount of light coming from his figure was impossible.

It was almost if he had not just one Blessing coating his body, but two.

...

Cain once again found himself lying on the floor of the sparring grounds. He was covered in drying sweat, which only made the cold winter wind that much colder. Eleni passed him his water skin. They both took plentiful swigs of refreshing water.

That's better.

Cain reflected upon his training. He was most definitely showing progress in his fighting capabilities. He could even argue that his speed of progression was greater than the others. Yet, he was still too far behind his peers. Especially Eleni and Jorn. Although he knew it was unfair to compare himself to them, he hated the inferiority he would feel training with them.

Cain wiped sweat from his forehead. Now that they were all able to use their Blessings, he would have to start incorporating that into his spars with Eleni. There was already a gap between them, but it was about to grow much larger.

I didn't see Horrow at dinner. I hope he's managed to grasp Fa's Blessing. Or would it better if he didn't? I mean, he probably trained with Hela's Blessing back home. No point in learning to use a whole new Blessing.

Eleni extended a hand to help Cain up. He took it, briefly feeling the roughness of her calloused palms, and got back up on his feet.

"Good work today, you've improved a lot over the last month. Honestly, its scary how fast your growing. Especially considering you weren't trained before the Institute. Soon enough I might have to switch to my dominant hand during our spars."

Cain thanked Eleni. Compliments were not something Eleni gave out lightly. Still, he knew Eleni wasn't being nearly as aggressive as she usually would fight. While he may have almost bridged their gap in strength, she still had a major speed advantage. He didn't even bother trying to calculate their difference in skill and experience.

They began walking towards the sparring ground's exit. Cain failed to suppress a shiver. Winter was now in full swing.

When in Fa's name are they going to give us winter clothes?