Azura stood before the new liquid cultivators in the dawn of a new day. She was once again in their private sparring ring for the day’s training. Only this time, adoration wasn’t the looks she was receiving. Icy glares of doom, was more apt.

“Sooo, umm, I might have forgotten a small detail, about what happens when you first start your ki spiral,” Azura admitted. The icy glares of doom were upgrade to frozen stares of unending torment.

“Okay fine,” Azura said throwing her hands up. “Sorry. I messed up.”

“Do you know how long it took to get clean?” Gerald growled.

“No. But you guys look great!” Azura lied. While it was true that their ki improved every aspect of their body, their fur was another matter. The black sludge had been rather… sticky. It had gotten everywhere. In the end her mother ended up shaving several spots on the new liquid cultivators. Gwen had it the easiest with her human skin. Even so her long white hair was considerably shorter and she had a few bare patches on her arms. The others… they had various shave parts on their body. Poor Hamal looked like a hairless cat. Azura suppressed a laugh. At this point they might actually try to kill her.

“How about we get right on today’s lessons!” Azura said rather loudly. More glares were the only response.

“Let’s start with a spar. All of you against me. Hold nothing back,” Azura said confidently. The glares transformed to anticipated retribution. She’d figured that would motivate them. With a quick hop Azura leaped to the far side of the ring.

“Begin!” She called.

The others didn’t hesitate and charged right at her, except for Hamal who simply watched.

Clever, Azura thought as she readied herself.

Hamal didn’t bother to watch the others attack. He knew what would happen. Unlike them, he instantly saw the problem with his new found power. Instead he focused on Azura. He absorbed every detail feeling with his new ki senses. Sure enough, the others tumbled out of control. Their strength was too great to be fully used. It all came down to leverage. How had Azura overcome such an obvious problem? The others got to their feet looking confused. Gerald was the first to recover and did a slower run to Azura, his fist raised. The furry meteor descended upon the much smaller kin. Azura didn’t move. She simply raised her hand catching the blow as the force from Gerald’s own strike sent him sprawling a moment later.

There! He felt it. Azura sent ki down under her. She was using it as an anchor creating her own leverage! Hamal kept watching. With every step she sent ki into the ground all the while avoid the bumbling cultivators as they continued to be their own worst enemies. Experimentally Hamal let his ki flow down into the ground. It seemed to work. His ki went about a kin’s length away before flowing back to him. He kept the flow going as he tried to raise his foot and failed. It was firmly rooted in place. A savage smile crossed his lips. Now he would make her pay. He took a single step tripping as he failed to release his ki with the movement.

“Enough,” Azura said looking at him. “Well done Hamal, you figured it out.”

“Figured what out?!” Gwen snarled pushing herself hard off the ground only to flip herself all the way around landing faced down again.

“Leverage,” Hamal said.

“Exactly,” Azura agreed. “You now all have great strength, but you lack the leverage to use it properly. Think of ki like an extra limb. It can support your legs by flowing from your paws into the ground, holding you in place so you can use your full strength. You can also have it flow from your hands when you pick something up to provide you with a proper grip. Ki can also be used directly.”

Hamal saw a small stone float up. He’d seen Azura levitate many objects in the past, only this time he could feel the ki flowing from her to the stone and back. A whole new sense had opened up to him, just like when his mana pool was awakened.

“Using ki directly causes it to become exhausted faster. The pieces of your core will absorb the ambient mana around you refreshing your exhausted ki or it'll make new ki, if none is exhausted. Feel inside yourself to the center of your ki spiral. You should feel your solid ki there. That is the remains of your mana pool compressed to its ultimate form. I took a piece of that core and used it to awaken your mana pools. The dozen pieces of your core will spin there in the center, you can…”

“Dozen?” Tabatha asked. “I don’t have that many. I got like seven.”

“Eight,” Gerald grunted and Gwen nodded in agreement. Hamal let his mind drift inwards feeling for the glorious pieces of ki.

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“I got seven also,” Hamal said.

Azura stopped, clearly surprised. She tapped her chin in thought. Hamal had a suddenly revelation… She had no clue why it would be different. All she ever had was her own experiences to go on. In that way the amount she’d figure out was impressive, but that also meant she could be making wrong assumptions.

Hamal closed his eyes, thinking. If those pieces of solid ki were truly what remained of their mana pools then…

“Perhaps,” Hamal started. “It is dependent on the mana pool size. Larger pools start off with more solid ki. Your pool Azura was already awakened, so it was bigger than all of ours. It is reasonable that you would have more solid ki.”

Azura looked suddenly enlightened by his words, which she quickly hid. The others were looking at him so they didn’t notice.

“Um, well done Hamal. Ah, that’s exactly right. I was waiting to see if any of you could figure it out on your own.” Azura put her hands on her hips her most fake confident smile in place. He’d learn that particular tell from her years ago. Hamal didn’t refute it. It was best that everyone thought her all knowing about ki, even if she was stumbling through it. It wasn’t like she received a divine blessing or the knowledge of some ancient elder. Nor was she any chosen one like in the stories. She was just the first, trying to figure things out as she went. He gave her a small nod. The relief she effused was something only his well trained eye could tell. Hamal guessed he could forgive for the purge incident, besides the itching concoction he put in her undergarments should be having an effect any time now. It was insidious powder that would torment her for at least an hour. They’ll be even soon enough.

“So that brings us to your assignment for the next two weeks. You are to practice with your ki. I want each step you take to be sealed to the ground with ki. Do the same for hands when picking up objects. You should also develop control over objects in your ki range. Finally your attunement…”

Azura trailed off taking a deep breath. Then on her finger was a glowing crimson speck. “You must attune your ki. I attuned my ki to blood by immersing it into your bodies when I awoke yours and others mana pools. I want you to do the same. Find something that appeals to the core of who you are. Find its essence, which is composed the physical, magical and spiritual nature of your chosen attunement. Immerse yourself in that essence and claim it as your own. I can’t help you with this. I have mine. It’ll be different with whatever you choose. All I can tell you is this. You will feel it and it’ll be your choice to accept if that is who you are or not. Once you get your attunement, you must discover how to both control it and cultivate it. You must each walk your own path. Please take any supplies you need from storage for your attunement. Good luck.”

With that the lesson was over. Azura began chatting with the others talking about what attunements they might want. Hamal ignored them leaving the private area. He knew what he would choose. He’d known for a long time. Azura might have thought she was reveling some secret about attunement but it had been fairly obvious to those she first awakened. They had saw the change. It was pretty hard to miss. Now he could finally set his long awaited plan into action.

Nicola strode from his private area he’d procured for his spying work, crushing the charm as he went. This was it then. He had all he needed. In another month or two he’d be ready for his own advancement, at that time he’d be at Dageth. He strode back toward his home in a slow leisurely walk. This could be the last time he was in Azure’s Rest. No. It certainly was. The thought sadden him, yet the herd came first. That had been driven into him ever since he was small. Ten minutes later he arrived home. It was a large raised structure made of thick wood that housed his entire herd. Inside fifty deer-kin eagerly waited for his return. The elder sat on a chair his magnificent horns a testament to his rule of the herd. Yet among all their number only he had advance so far in his cultivation. The rest lacked his talent. Their progression was a crawl to his sprint.

“Did you get what you needed?” The elder asked.

“I did. I have the secrets of progressing to ki. I’ll be ready in two months. Perhaps less with the resources of Dageth.”

“Good. We shall prepare to leave as soon as the rat-kin and the Magebane are distracted. You’ve made all the necessary arrangements?”

“I have,” Nicola agreed.

“Are we really going to do this?” A young deer-kin asked. She was small, barely an adult. Her pelt was a stunning brown with small white dots trailing up her sides reaching her face. Eyes like sapphires pierced him as she stared intensely.

“We’ve been over this Kelsa,” Nicola said tiredly. They have been over this, many, many times already.

“We can’t stay. The safety of the herd comes first,” the elder added.

“Why?!” She stamped her hoof. “The Magebane will protect us.”

“She can’t protect us from herself,” Nicola said repeating the old argument. “Predator type kin are too aggressive. She doesn’t even try for peace with the mages. She and all the leaders are out for blood. We’ll never achieve the peace the herd needs to stay safe.”

“Alenina isn’t a predator kin and she’s staying,” Kelsa argued.

“She has lost much. It blinds her to what must be done,” the elder retorted. “In Dageth we’ll have peace. We won’t have to fear mages. We won’t have to fear the mists. We can just live, like the herd was meant to.”

Kelsa shook her head. “This feels wrong.”

“You’re young,” Nicola said. Why did she have to bring this up every time? He and elder had already explained it so often. “We’re saving kin. With this deal I’ve save almost as many kin from slavery as the Magebane without killing anyone. All the Dageth slaves will be free. They will be given citizenship and have well-paying jobs. Can the Magebane do that? Can she offer them the protection of a magical combat academy? Can she offer them anything but violence? We’re offering them a future! Why can’t you understand that!?”

“…I, I do,” Kelsa said sadly as she backed down.

“Do you have some of the herd watching?” Nicola asked.

“Of course,” the elder said. “We have to be careful. The rat-kin are clever. Once Fatania and the Magebane are busy we’ll head out under the excuse we are forging for supplies. We’re unlikely to be stopped. It’s not like we haven’t done that before.”

“Now make sure everyone is ready. When the time is ready, we leave,” Nicola said looking out the window toward the mists. If a chance didn’t arrive soon, then they would have to make one.