In some ways, traveling on a mission promoting unity and peace while then killing people on that same mission felt like hypocrisy. In others, it felt like exactly what John should be doing. After all, the purpose of unifying was to protect against people like that.
Ultimately, John understood that there were probably better ways to handle the situation. He could have gone around the Goldheart Clan rather than through it. Provoking people certainly didn’t make the excuse of self defense quite as airtight. On the other hand, if he hadn’t clashed with them they would have continued to harm others. John was totally fine with legitimate taxation, and he might even turn a blind eye to what he felt were excessive practices as they tended to be the norm in this world. However, there were limits to that.
The Goldheart Clan had not built the roads as Lenka, the elder, had claimed. Nor was John entirely sure that they maintained it. And if they kept bandits away, it was only so that they would have more people to rob themselves. It would have been one thing if they were actually a better option, but John didn’t find that compelling considering how they had acted.
Taking out their patrol should weaken their position greatly, allowing others in the Shining Coast to clean up the situation. That was the intention, anyway. It was entirely possible the Goldheart Clan would send people to hunt them down and chase them all the way to Moonport. There weren’t that many others traveling along the road that they could be mistaken for. But if they intended to make trouble in the city, he would gladly finish off the rest of them.
Rather than being secretive about things, he warned other sects along the way about what happened. It wasn’t as if nobody else in the area knew about what they were doing, they simply lacked motivation to act in the interests of others.
-----
John and his entourage managed to reach Moonport without further trouble, visiting a few small sects along the way. Overall, John was feeling fairly positive about how the trip was going. There was just one last major stop in Moonport, specifically the Lunar Island.
He was somewhat aware of how Moonport was arranged ahead of time, but simply hearing people talk about it didn’t do it justice compared to actually seeing it. Wide sandbars sheltered the bay, curving about into the shape of a crescent moon. Like everything in the Shining Coast, the city redirected light in many directions. The curved sandbars reflected light into the middle of the bay, alighting upon a tall tower standing upon a lone island.
That tower sat atop the Lunar Island. It looked uncomfortably bright and hot when they arrived in the port in the middle of the afternoon, but according to John’s understanding they were a nocturnal sect. They’d managed to send word ahead of their arrival, but it would still be best to approach during normal operating hours.
-----
When sundown came, rather than darkening John actually felt that the bay brightened. That was almost certainly not the case, but the dark waters were full of darting lights. Luminescent fish and jellies, from what he could pick out through the murk. Meanwhile, the lights reflected onto the tower in the middle of the bay, creating a much less harsh reflection and revealing the many curves sticking out from the tower.
A handful of rowboats had already been arranged for the ground, though John could have quite easily walked them across to their destination if they needed to. Swimming would have been fine as well, if a bit undignified. Showing up to a water element sect soaked was one thing, but it was less acceptable elsewhere.
They were met on the shores of the island by a small entourage. At the head was a woman in flowing robes, with sleeves stitched with symbols representing the different phases of the moon.
Rather than any sort of formal greeting, the woman seemed to speak to herself, or the area in general. “The arrival of new faces on the eve of the waxing crescent.”
John wondered if that meant anything. So, he asked.
The woman smiled, small lines by her eyes just beginning to show her age. “Everything can reveal meaning, if we let it.” She looked him over. “You are an odd sort to lead a group of light element cultivators.”
“For now, I suppose that’s true,” John agreed. “But I have found that cultivators needn’t be immersed in an element to help guide others to some extent. And the rest can be learned from their peers.”
“An interesting perspective, but I suppose it has worked out for you, John Miller. Even given our geographical isolation, we are still aware of the Six Elements Crossroads. I, Szabina, welcome you all to the Lunar Island.” She bowed, sweeping her arms.
“Thank you,” John said. “As for your isolation, it’s not so difficult to make the trip if one puts in the effort.”
“Yet few seldom do. Even you are quite far afield.”
“It was simply a trip through the Shimmering Islands,” John pointed out. “It is not nearly so far as the Prism Underfields.”
“True,” the woman nodded. “Perhaps I am simply used to days when traveling so far was less common.”
Honestly, John thought that people hardly traveled far at all in this world… though the fact that it mainly had to happen on foot was one consideration. Travel by sea could be quite a bit faster, but also came with the risk of storms and beasts. While there were large flying beasts, attempts to tame and ride them were rarely successful. At best, specific groups of tamers were able to make use of such methods- and such beasts rarely remained tame outside of their constant upkeep.
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He had to admit it was still quite a bit of time to reach the Shining Coast, but given that cultivators also had more time he felt it balanced out.
“I don’t mean to pry if it is a secret,” John began. “But most cultivators tend to choose the most powerful source they can. You must have great quantities of sunlight here during the day, but you don’t seem to make use of them.”
“It is not a secret, even if it is also not known by all,” Szabina replied. “The answer is simple. Like any other sect, we focus on what suits us the best. And a proper flow and cycle of energy is more important than sheer power. I’m sure you understand this.”
John nodded. Many people would seek both, but it wasn’t necessarily lacking here either. They were still in the Shining Coast with concentrated moonlight reflecting off of the shores to their tower. Their cultivation might not grow so quickly, but that might give them more time to lay proper foundations.
“I think that’s a valuable way to look at things,” John agreed verbally. “And of course, I don’t personally mind the milder setting.”
“We will provide you a room on the far side of the tower for your stay,” she said. “I expect the rest would prefer to be on the brighter side.”
Although it was night, for the Lunar Island things were just picking up. Disciples had just awoken, and were moving in and around rapidly. Szabina brought their group past all of the hustle and bustle up to the peak of the tower, where John found himself quite relieved that the harshness of the light was not that of the day.
Viewing the tower from the shores and viewing the shores from the tower were both pleasant experiences, at least at night. The south facing side of the tower had an excellent view of the moon as well, along with the various reflections. It was a relatively small sliver, but John was reminded by the few features he could see that it was not the moon he was born with. Then again, it wasn’t like he could name any specific features. All he had pictured in his head were vague shapes.
This moon was more familiar given his many decades of exposure to it. He simply felt a bit of nostalgia for Earth’s moon. Not that he would want to go back now, even if he could. After all, his family would have most likely already have passed on. He had once worried about them, but whatever was going on with them would have resolved itself long before. As he looked up at the stars, he knew that view was different as well. Though perhaps somewhere in another galaxy was the world he’d been born upon.
The Shining Coast had a wonderful view of the stars.
-----
Spending time constantly surrounded by light element was unpleasant for John, but he had sufficient control to keep it merely unpleasant. And discomfort wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. It was difficult to grow without pushing oneself, after all. With the milder environs of the Lunar Island, John was able to find some time to reflect on his abilities.
John thought about Cuah’arn’s words as he interacted with the light around him. He was quite far from the potential point in time where he could actually bind to a light element totem, but he could still improve his control and other interactions with it.
The spirit beast had explained that light was naturally projected outwards, with darkness sinking inwards. And yet when surrounded by it, he constantly felt like it was trying to invade his body. John knew it was foolish to ignore such feelings, as the reaction of light and darkness was anything but peaceful, and he didn’t want that to happen uncontrolled inside him.
Yet he didn’t want to discount the advice, either. Just because he had a different experience didn’t mean it was wrong. Instead, he imagined that it was merely meant in a different context than he was experiencing. And if he thought about it carefully, he could picture it as part of the overall flow of the energy.
Light element cultivators did tend to radiate light, after all. And while darkness cultivators would have a matching aura, the feeling of an aura wouldn’t necessarily match up with what was happening. Human senses could be wrong in myriad ways.
Rather than focusing on light for the moment, he instead took some time to let his darkness element flow naturally. He felt it extending beyond himself, but not in the same way as he might expect from something like fire. He found it quite interesting, how looking at such a fundamental thing from a different angle revealed more. Rather than extending darkness, he extended the pull of darkness. Indeed, he was reminded of one of his very first martial techniques, Gravity Blade.
While it did not create true gravity, it pulled things in and acted in a certain manner reminiscent of gravity. The same was true of darkness element when he let it ‘spread’ around him. Pulling away the light from around him was much like spreading darkness further. In some ways, indistinguishable since the effect would always spread outward from him. Whether it was light or darkness, it acted much the same.
But it was different. He could feel it. He paid close attention, focusing on what happened at the smallest scale. When his darkness ‘spread out’… light was pulled into him. It was then very quickly eliminated by the actual darkness element inside of him. And yet, what remained outside of him was still a tangible thing holding its own shape, and with his blessing he could still see. How that worked was a mystery for later.
That would explain why areas of high light elemental spiritual energy density were so troublesome. More light would be pulled into him, more than he could naturally annihilate without consequences. So perhaps it wasn’t truly the light trying to find its way into him, but it seemed the same.
Thinking of it that way made quite a bit of sense. Light and darkness were oppositely charged, so they would be drawn to each other… and perhaps something like matter and antimatter, they would then mutually annihilate. John had no reason to believe that was actually what they were, but the properties were similar enough to provide a useful basis to consider things by.
Another step of understanding, though his actual control didn’t necessarily improve. Keeping his darkness from pulling in light was not all that different from keeping light out… but a change in mindset might prove advantageous until he made his next step in understanding.