Shards of Awakening

Yi Qiu rather disliked repetition. Words, lessons, places… people. Some of that distaste she could work around. Some, however, she could not. One did not lightly refuse the request of a Senior Magistrate when they appeared in one's garden, after all. Still, the duty and the consequences of abrogating it that had sent her to the Sect of Riven Stone was only half the cause of her irritation. A Fool, by far too enamored of martial prowess, that had sent her to teach children things they should have learned at a parent's knee was the repository for the rest. As if lectures were anything more than endless repetition… pfaugh…

At least she could mitigate some of her distaste with the variety the sect had to offer. The sect was, after all, a sprawling expanse of land encompassing almost any number of conceivable terrain and wonder… and some that were beyond the range of even her conception… and if laziness and confusion reduced the number of children in her classes… all to the better. Today's lesson was a particularly apt implementation of that line of thinking. The volcanic plain, shaped by pyroclastic flows and the aimless artistry of a herd of third-realm spirit deer, was stark, colorless, and most relevantly, miles away from the disciples housing.

Pale blue eyes scanned her chosen classroom as her spirit-sense scanned the surrounding terrain. Such students as had chosen to arrive were perched awkwardly on or around smooth obsidian blocks… is that girl sleeping? What a curious mixture of industry and laziness… and while she could feel the slowly approaching presence of a handful of disciples they had only themselves to blame for being late.

It was time to begin.

"It seems as though some among your number have decided that such lessons as I provide do not interest them sufficiently to ensure attendance," the Veil parts around her and Yi Qiu steps forward, only the slightest shivering of space left by her passage. Still not quite good enough…

"It is no doubt a fortunate coincidence for them that their understanding exceeds the tuition which I can provide, for any such education they seek now or in the future will need to come from an alternative source." Yes a reduction in class size is just the remedy I was looking for.

"For those that remain, however, a lesson on a subject most timely, for some it appears, awaits today." her spirit-sense reaches out, identifying nearly a dozen students approaching the peak of the Diamond Soul. "Breakthrough, specifically the imbuement of your first Peripheral Soul will be the lecture for today."

"In an effort to enliven this endeavor, I will ask questions, and expect answers." Yi Qiu directs a glare at each student in turn taking in both confident and scared faces with equally annoyed disinterest. Once satisfied that her desires were understood, and her students chosen, she continues, "those that answer a question correctly will receive a supplemental lesson on cultivation those that do not will face such ridicule as their peers choose to impart."

"The first I ask rhetorically: what is a Breakthrough?" She pauses, waiting to see if any would jump in and embarrass themselves. Unfortunately, her class remains silent, so with a frisson of amused disappointment covered in bland disinterest, she continues. "It is first and most obviously the advancement and refinement of a cultivator's Core Soul and an enkindling of a Peripheral Soul. It is secondly, and yet still apparently, an attunement with the concepts of the World and of the Self through the lens of a Resonance. It is finally, and perhaps intuitively, the culmination and a summation of the efforts undertaken within that realm."

"But the philosophy of cultivation is beyond what we shall discuss here. Instead, we shall start with the nature of a Peripheral Soul and the Resonance imbued within." Her eyes trail past a girl with an unfortunately upturned nose. "What is the importance of that Resonance? And in what order should Resonances be added?"

Pig-nose girl speaks, her voice ringing clearly and resonantly against cooled lava and obsidian, "a sub-Resonance is a both a restriction of and an expansion to the core Resonance. The first is exhibited most clearly when completely inimical concepts are imbued and a collapse of the core Resonance is induced. This mistake almost invariably results in a loss of the capability to cultivate, thus one must be increasingly more conscientious of the sub Resonances imbued. In comparison, complementary Resonances offer an elaboration to the core Resonance, for the most simplistic of examples: wind and water may be thus refined into storm."

"Acceptable," Yi Qiu nods, "it is vital to remember that we are endless and infinite in our potential. Combinations of Resonances are as endless as the night sky, and even two cultivators with identical Resonances may manifest them differently. It is not uncommon for Enlightenment and experience to alter a core Resonance almost beyond recognition of its original form."

"As an aside, it is widely considered that the closer the line one walks between sympathetic and contradictory Resonances the more powerful one's Resonance will become." Or the more easily shattered. "But that potential is beyond all but a few of you. So to return to the lecture at hand, the second question builds on the first. Where does one find a sub Resonances to imbue their peripheral souls with?"

A girl, with silver eyes sharper than a blade, answers, her voice quiet yet still audible, "arts, techniques, experience, Dao."

"Succinct and accurate, good." Yi Qiu nods and continues scanning her class, "Moving ever onward, why does an art or technique need to be mastered to a certain extent to enable imbuement?"

The sleeping girl perks up as an elbow hits her, and with a yawning gracelessness answers, "arts have lessons buried in them… little pieces of Dao is what pops says… can't have a resonance without Understanding, right?"

"Are you asking or telling," Yi Qiu holds up a hand to forestall any further response, "I don't actually care. You are correct enough either way. Without a Resonance available to imbue into a Peripheral Soul, a cultivator runs the risk of that soul imploding… an immensely unpleasant experience by all accounts."

"What of other things, say you were to focus on physical strength, or perhaps an ability honed beyond mortal limits?" she raises an eyebrow at a dark haired boy.

"While in only the rarest of cases are one's skills and attributes of sufficient Mystery to serve as a Resonance, they do provide… context to the Breakthrough itself. In practical terms, cultivating strength will likely result in that dedication returning upon breaking through."

"Indeed," Yi Qiu nods, accepting the answer. "Beyond the expected refinements of breaking through, one can hope to receive bonuses in accordance to the time and effort spent cultivating."



Twelve more questions, eight more correct answers, and finally her class was over. As the majority of her students depart, Yi Qiu looks over the twelve that remain. The only question to ask was what should she instruct these few on:

[] Base cultivation

[] Arts

[] Qi

[] Meridians