Dueling Fate

You strike the match, watching as the flame roars to life and engulfs the wood underneath the cauldron. You blink in surprise at the ferocity of the fire as you see your fellows barely able to get started. Reaching out a hand you find the fire is not as warm as you might expect. With your sixth sense you open out to see that your Qi, is not just tethered to yourself now, but that it has linked to the flames, giving them a warm tether that keeps the fire alive and allows you to focus on the book in front of you.

Two of the recipes in the book grab your attention. The Gates that have been set in front of you are a challenge that you will need all cultivation tools you can muster to break through. Creating cultivation aids could well be the best move for you.

But there's something else coming your way.

A promise, a reward for when you master the Valiant Champion and an introducing to Immortal Techniques. Qi based combat, surely you will need more Qi to train in it properly?

You take the Spirit Spring Water, glowing as it pours from one container into the cauldron, lights dancing as the cauldron protests with a whine against the cool liquid that hits its surface. Slowly but surely the water begins to boil, the light that suffuses the water begins to glow brighter and brighter as it bubbles, faint whisps of light mingling with the steam that brings a pleasant feeling to the senses as you draw breath. You feel your muscles relax, tension oozing out of you as your hand rests on the jar of honey and you let your mind wander away from the task at hand.

Hiss. You jolt awake as Seri slithers up behind you and gazes at your work.

"Be careful not to let your attention be wrested away by the ingredients Tallak, the materials you are likely to come into contact with will be far more… Dangerous."

You nod at his words as he looks at the cauldron.

"Nevertheless, your mind wandered at the safest part of the process, it is after the honey has been added that you will need to be at your most focused."

With those words of advice, the Naga slithers away to help others and you twist open the second and final ingredient. The pungent, sweet aroma of the honey fills the air as it falls from the jar, rippling along the surface of the water. With a wooden spoon you carefully integrate water and honey, the mixture getting more and more difficult to mix as more of the honey is added. From there you leave the spoon resting atop the cauldron as you prepare the capsules.

Six pills, their moulds lie open, waiting to be filled with the mixture now congealing as bubbles burst on the surface and spray boiling water into the air. One lands on your arm, and you grunt in annoyance but note that the damage is superficial. Dabbing a cloth at your arm you wipe off the excess before you focus your senses on the boiling pot, waiting for the moment it is ready.

A moment that passes before you are ready, as the faint scent of burning begins to fill the air and you lift the cauldron off the flames as quick as you can and place it onto the wooden table to cool. Looking down you can see that some of the honey is now stuck to the bottom of the cauldron, a charred mess that will damage the amount of Pills you will be able to make. Your final move is to place the lid of the container back on top as you let the two mixtures seep for a few minutes longer.

After a few minutes, once steam is no longer erupting from the spout you lift the cauldron once more and gently pour some liquid into the first mould. The sweet, intoxicating scent of the spirit water and honey threaten to take your senses away as the aroma is lifted into the open air. Heeding your mentors' words you maintain your focus, holding your breath as you pour the second.

And the third.

As you go to fill the fourth mould you realise that the liquid is too congealed, globs of honey splashing down as the burnt remains separate from the spirit water.

You will not be able to go further than this.

Items Gained 3x A Draw from the Well (Water/Insect Qi) – Recovers 7 Qi Instantly

Eventually the mould begins to cool, and you can place the second half of the mould over the top of the first, containing the liquid within a capsule. The clear mould gives allows you to see a smooth, bronze liquid which pulsates ever so slightly with the spirit essence that had been such a core part of its creation. You place the pills into your chute, stuffing them on the inside of your robes as Seri invites you and the rest of your fellows to begin what they call the most enjoyable part of refining.

The clean-up.

Refining (Restoratives +1)!


You work at the cleaning basin next to the disciple you noticed at team selection, a portly young man with dextrous fingers named Fang Qiu who often fiddles with a calligraphy brush.

He… enjoys talking. A dozen questions are thrown your way – "What is the North like? Have you ever eaten elk? Do you enjoy hunting? Do you enjoy poetry? Did you leave a lover behind?" The last was accompanied by a bewildering account of at least two – possibly three or four – paramours, made more complex by an unwillingness to give their names out of 'respect for their privacy'. Thankfully he does not appear to mind your silence and is more than willing to fill the silence.

Relationship established: Fang Qiu (0)!

As you leave the lesson you see another initiate, perhaps a few years older than you, leaning up against a post outside. As they see you, they reach into their robes and take out a scroll.

"Lind Tallak?" They ask you.

You nod as they hand the scroll over. With their job done the initiate immediately turns around and heads back into the heart of the sect. Or they do for a second, before they turn back around, only stopping to say. "If an Administrator asks you if the delivery was successful, I expect to hear a good answer."

Not waiting for your reply, they leave as promptly as they returned. You open the scroll, fighting against a wax seal, a sea of flames superimposed by a trident to find it is from one of your fellows.

To Lind,

I hope this message finds you well. I have suggested it to you before, but now that we have progressed to the next stage of our cultivation, I find myself eager as ever to invite you to another sparring session.

You can find me and my fellows near the Orange Markets.

Vijaya.

You roll the parchment back up and head away from the refining chamber. Not towards the Orange Markets, but back towards the hut where you and your team are lodging. When you return you find Bai Ping engrossed in his latest research, a bundle of discarded scrolls and books lying on the desk and the ground alongside him.

"How was your day?" He asks, not looking up from his book as with his other hand he takes notes on the material he is reading.

You reach into your pocket and pull out on of the pills, shaking it in the air. "Learning new things."

The sight of the pill tears his attention from his work as he gazes at the Qi restorative with interest. "Definitely something worth learning." Ping says as he throws a scroll at you, the paper falling into your lap. "Senior Xiu is coming back at sundown to take us for training, if you have the time it can't hurt to take some notes."

You look at the scroll with some interest, before you look at your own equipment, a fraying string on your bow and knives which have become dulled from use. Ping bats the scroll to the side as you throw it back at him, returning to his own work as you reach for the whetstone by your bedside table.

Shink.

The sound of the dagger being sharpened as it grinds against the whetstone rings through the house.

Shink.

You repeat the motion again, hearing a dull thump from Ping's side of the room. With a little smile to yourself you do it again.

And again.

Each sound of the blade as it shears against the whetstone echoes through the silence, disturbing Bai Ping's peace. To his credit he endures it, letting out a sigh of relief as you place the first blade down.

He only starts throwing books at you and ordering you outside when you roll out the belt that shows at least seven more to be taken care of.

Night falls quickly, Medhi and Yan showing up and greeting you as you tend to your equipment outside of your hut. It is not the sound of Senior Xiu that alerts you to her presence engrossed as you are with restringing your bow. The hair illuminating the gravel under your feet long after night has fallen is what draws your gaze up as she stares at the hut.

"Has everyone bothered to show up today?"

"Yes, Senior Sister." You say as you test the draw of the bow and find it to your satisfaction.

Senior Xiu bites her lip for a moment, and you wait for what she has to say but she shakes her head and walks past you, opening the door.

Medhi and Ping are working at a table together, reading. Meanwhile Yan is at his desk, tinkering with an item that you can feel Qi radiating off as he look towards Senior Xiu.

"More reading again Senior?" Yan drawls as he returns to his work.

Your Senior doesn't answer him. At least, not with words. You feel a spike of Qi radiate from Xiu, a spike which dwarfs the strength of each of you. The light from the candles in the room brighten to the point it is uncomfortable to stare. Her twintails flail in the air, solidifying into a neon colour and Yan drops the equipment at his table, his face pale.

"Don't mistake me for someone who will suffer insults willingly." She says. "If you do not wish to learn from me then you may leave silently. Or you follow me, and I will teach you."

With that the spike of Qi is released and the room returns to normal. Xiu stalks past you, straight back outside and you gather your equipment from the ground before following her.

You note this time, that all four of you are in tow.

Together the five of you walk under the full moon, the wind blows gently, the nights chill comforting to you though Medhi shivers at a particularly strong gust. Eventually you arrive at the entrance of the Sect gazing upon the great lake which dazzled you the day you first arrived.

"Sit."

You follow her lead dropping to the ground, your legs crossed, gazing at your Senior.

"The four of you are fledglings in this ability, it's one which you can only fully utilise once you have consecrated." She tells you, as you feel her Qi poke and prod against your own. "Sending your Qi out to that in front of you, extending it towards your Spots for the purposes of cycling is just two ways which you can utilise your spiritual sense."

"And what's the other?"

"There's more than just one." She says. "But for today, I will teach you the most useful for your next trial. The Mountain trial is more than just physical, you will find all manner of beasts, traps and treasures lying there for you if you are just able to be aware of it. I will teach you the basics of that awareness today."

You watch as her eyes close, her fists digging into her uniform as like before at the house you feel a pulse of Qi. Except rather than staying put you feel it pass through you and echo out into the greater wild.

"By extending your sixth sense, you can gain a grasp of the immediate land around you. Beasts which could be lurking around the corner, items or treasures laden with Qi are now known by you. If you can extend this sense, if you can guide it appropriately then you will be aware of anyone around you. Perfect for avoiding or ambushing your enemies and finding that which can aid you through the mountains."

Closing your eyes, your hands resting on your knees, you try to mimic what you felt. Focusing on your sixth sense, on that which is immediately around you. You can see the Qi which pulsates out of your fellow teammates and your mentor, the Qi which fills the river waiting to be drawn on. And you try to stretch beyond that which is immediate.


The wilds are always filled with life, seen and unseen but now the world screams its presence as a thrum of energy surrounds you. Birds nesting in trees, fish lazily gliding through the river. Insects flying through the air and burrowing underground all scream their presence at you, their Qi shouting. It's as if you're being deafened and blinded by the sheer volume of information and all you can do is search for something familiar.

Further down you can feel the scorching heat of the Prismatic Mudpots which you have used so often before. You focus on it, clinging to the warm Qi which feels the same as that which suffuses your core. A pressure begins to build at the back of your mind, the further that you reach out until eventually you feel a pounding headache which forces you to release your senses. Falling back onto the ground gasping for breath, you gaze at the glittering night sky.

"Again."

Tilting your gaze back towards your Senior you find her staring back at you.

"Again, Lind Tallak. Again, and again until the morning sun rises."

Perception (Spiritual Perception +1)!

Fighting the pulse of pain in the back of your head, noting that it subsides with each second you stare at the night sky, you resist the urge to stop.

But strength is lost by time.

Rising back up you extend your senses yet again, brushing past Yan as his own retreated and he lets out a retched grunt of pain. This time you stray away from the Prismatic Mudpots, trying to let your mind brush against everything, exploring the entirety of the world around you.

That exploration leads you to something which you thought would be a long way away. It is a stench, a taint, a faint whiff of corruption.

Deep into the woods to your north your senses pick up a Qi which you have felt before, an aura which once brought you to your knees but now you have conquered that fear.

There is a demon in the woods.

[] Pursue it, you may not be able to catch its scent again. Sister Xiu will understand… or rather, you do not care if she does or not.

[] Stay, continue learning from your Senior's Wisdom. The demon is something you can pursue later… probably.