Present - The Immortal Vale - Talen

“Demons,” Mei Ling yelled as she and Talen ran toward the gate guards.

Talen gestured behind them, he didn’t have enough breath to even whisper, let alone shout.

“Get the captain,” one of the guards called back into the castle.

The noise of the guards coming together and the captain’s commands drowned out the sound of the horde coming up the hill.

Talen and Mei Ling reached the safety of the castle. Hurrying through the gate, Mei Ling urged Talen on. He simply collapsed onto the floor, groaning.

“Numbers,” the captain said, standing over the pair. “Or any information you have for what we’re facing.”

“At least 50, probably more,” Talen said, struggling to sit back up while bowing his head.

“Talen took out two of them on his own though, so they’re not that tough,” Mei Ling said.

“I thought I told you to return with information and avoid fighting,” the guard captain said, crossing his arms.

“They ambushed me, honorable captain,” Talen said. “I didn’t have a choice.”

“We’ll talk about this later.” The captain spun and went to give more orders to the guards. “Report to Master Han,” he shouted over his shoulder.

***

“I thought there weren’t supposed to be any demons in this realm anymore,” Talen said.

The pair were sitting in Master Han’s study.

“Sometimes they get through one of the portals and try and take over this castle,” Master Han said. “There are artifacts here that the demons, and others, would like to get their hands on. Not to mention the shear amount of pure Kai the residents of this castle carry. They won’t succeed though. The guard is strong and all much higher rank than your average demon. Still, it’s a good thing you didn’t try and fight them yourselves.”

“What did you mean about the pure Kai?” Talen asked, as Mei Ling opened her mouth to tell the immortal about the scouts Talen had fought.

“The more you purify your Kai, the more lower energy beings like demons will want to possess it. You see they’re unable to purify their own Kai. It’s what separates the inhabitants of the higher realms from those of the lower realms. They can smell it though,” Master Han said.

“The two I killed were sniffing the air during our fight,” Talen said. “Is that why?”

Master Han laughed.

“I should have known you two wouldn’t have managed to stay away from the fighting completely.” He shook his head. “Yes, that’s what they were smelling. They can pull the Kai out of a corpse, so they would have been hoping to do that with your Kai. And they were probably hoping to do so before the others caught up to them and their leaders took it instead.”

“He leveled up to level 3 during the fight,” Mei Ling said, almost bouncing on her seat. “My father said we could go out to Sun Long Shan when that happened and he had a quest for us.”

“Actually, the quest is mine,” Master Han said. “For the formal apprentice ceremony I’ll need some Uchie berries. They only grow at the base of Sun Long Shan. We’ll need a small bag of them and Talen will need to be the one to pick them.”

Master Han pulled a bag out of his robes and stood up to pass it over to Talen.

“Mei Ling, you’ll need to be there to ensure he remains safe. I’m not expecting any trouble, but it’s always wise to think ahead. So why don’t you go and plan out the route with your father. He’ll know exactly what might be up there and he can show you what to do,” he said. “You’ll need to pick the berries at sunrise, so they’re full of moonlight, as that will provide the best results.”

Grinning, Mei Ling left to go and find her father.

“We have other things we need to discuss,” Master Han said.

Talen nodded.

“I need to show you how to summon your Kai, so the berries become linked to you when you pick them tomorrow,” Master Han said.

He demonstrated the technique to Talen, before waving him over to practice. Talen stood up and grounded himself.

“First, pull Kai up through your feet to add it to your heart center,” Master Han said. “You should now be doing this all the time to keep your center full of Kai. You won’t be able to instantly summon it to your hands if your center is lacking.”

Talen pulled more Kai into his core and tried to copy what he’d been shown.

“No, like this.” Master Han demonstrated summoning his Kai again. “Squeeze the base of your thumb in slightly, so your Kai gets directed to the center of your hand. Do the same with your middle finger, and pull your smallest finger slightly back.”

Talen changed his finger position slightly. A prickling sensation appeared in the center of his palm.

“Good,” Master Han said. “From there let it get stronger and stronger until you create a cloud of Kai around your hand. When you concentrate well enough, it should become like a shield over the area.”

Talen concentrated on summoning Kai into his hand, and flooding it over his fingers. His hand took on a glassy hue as the shield coalesced around his hand.

“Excellent,” Master Han said. “That is what you’ll need to use tomorrow to pick these berries. If you forget, the berries won’t be linked to you and the formal apprentice ritual will fail.”

“I’ll remember,” Talen said, bowing his head slightly.

“About the formal apprentice ceremony,” Master Han said, sitting down and gesturing to Talen to do the same. “There are several thing that need to occur before it can take place. Firstly, you’ll need to learn how to make ink from the Uchie berries. They will be what I use to write the ritual with to formally seal your apprenticeship. It’s why the berries need to be linked to you, so no one else can pick them for you. We will make the ink together once you return tomorrow with the berries.”

“Okay,” Talen said, unsure what else to say.

“The other thing that will have to happen is that you’ll need to be chosen by your legendary weapon,” Master Han said. “I am sure this will be easier for you than most people though.

Master Han waved his hand as if this was a minor inconvenience as Talen’s face paled slightly.

“Of course, you’ll have to level up your cultivation and learn a few more things before you’ll be ready, or even you won’t be selected,” he said, standing up. “However, once you’re ready, to be chosen by it, you will first have to find it.”

Master Han started to pace around the room.

“It could currently be in any of the nine realms and you’ll have to use your Kai to sense its possible locations,” he said. “Once you’re nearby you’ll then have to perform a feat that will demonstrate you are worthy of being chosen.”

“What kind of feat?” Talen asked in a shaky voice.

“Well that will depend upon the individual weapon,” Master Han said stopping and turning to face Talen. “For an item like a sword, it will probably have to be a feat of unusual skill, something that will make it see you as a partner worthy of joining with in battle. With an item less obviously suited to fighting, it could be your ability to think outside the box, or a supreme kindness, or even something that displays your ability to take on different roles depending on the situation. Essentially, whatever it needs you to be to work with it the best. At the end of the day, the legendary weapon that chooses you shows who you will likely become in the future.”

“What if nothing wants to choose me?” Talen said rubbing his sweaty palms on his legs.

“Ah, I need to let you in on a little secret,” Master Hand said, smiling. Taking a deep breath, he sat back down next to Talen. “As an immortal, I have access to prophecies that will affect the realms. I’ve known for a long time that a marked child will be born that will bring balance to the realms, bringing back something that was missing.”

Talen tilted his head to the side, unsure what this had to do with him.

“The prophecy tells of the date that child will be born as well,” Master Han said. “It’s the eighth of Rains in the 13th year of the Age of Turmoil.”

“I’ve never heard of that year,” Talen said frowning.

“That’s because immortals measure years across all realms, not just the one you were brought up in. The date happened nineteen years ago.”

He let the information sink in. Talen looked frantically around the room, his hands shaking and the color completely gone from his face. Focusing on everything except Master Han, Talen’s face went through various expressions, finally landing back on a frown.

“Are you saying what I think you’re saying?” Talen stuttered.

“Yes,” Master Han said grabbing Talen’s left hand and pointing to the black mark. “This is the symbol that went with the prophecy.”

Talen looked down at the little circle inside the triangle on his left hand.

“I think you’re the one this prophecy is about,” Master Han said.