Fortress Monastery of The Burnt Meadow
Warm wood held firm against his palms and forehead, unyielding as Huo bowed towards the priest. Incense wafted through the air as sticks smoldered in their containers around the walls. Disciplined shouts were answered in turn somewhere in the monastery, but he had not seen where the drills were being practiced.
A voice sounding like softly burning embers spoke above him. "I applaud the effort you took to reach this monastery. Few will undergo what you have in coming to us. Becoming a stowaway on a caravan, arranging a deal to be a water boy and fire tender when caught, and then finally climbing the steps to the monastery. Yet, I have not heard the reason you wish to join us. I will hear of it before rending my decision."
"I… don't want to be a thief or beggar. I want to be able to walk a street without having to hide from shopkeeps or guards."
"You could have joined the army," the priest replied, "that would certainly have been easier than traveling here."
"They wouldn't have me. Too young they said."
"Hmmm… Very well, I will allow you to swear the oaths of learning in our monastery. Should you do so, you will become a student here, learning the rites, rituals, and responsibilities. I will not lie, it will be a hard life with suffering and struggles. In light of that, take some time to think it over. Brother Anjing will take you to the guest quarters. Sleep well, and make your decision in the morning."
A door slid open and Huo took a peek to find a monk standing to the side with a smile on their face. Looking up, he also saw the priest he had been talking to replaced with a lightly burning stone statute. So Huo followed Brother Anjing to a simple room, barely large enough for the small bed. The next morning, he made his decision to join.
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Training began in earnest the day after he swore his oaths. Before the sun peaked over the horizon, he and his fellow students were doing their chores. Sweeping out the great fire pits of detritus, polishing floors, preparing food, drawing water, and the other mundanities that kept a monastery running smoothly. Then, as the rooster crowed came breakfast. And Huo ate more than he ever thought possible when he huddled under eves on the streets. Rice and eggs were the staples in the morning, as much as you could eat. Then some more if, like himself, you were deemed too scrawny.
After breakfast came the physical training. Endless drills with staff and fist, running and sprinting, stretches and katas. Older students worked with some heavy boulders as well, lifting them with arms and legs. Often there would be spars between those older students. Which he watched avidly while doing the currently instructed physical activity. He could see the forms he was practicing displayed in those spars, the punches, kicks, and sweeps. Then, just as his muscles could take no more punishment, lunch would arrive. Rice was again served, but this time it came with vegetables and thick slices of meat. Most often it was chicken or pork, but sometimes it would be beef, goat, or deer. Again, it was as much as you could eat.
After eating, they would go and clean themselves off from the sweat, don more formal wear, and arrive at the study halls. Here they studied the rituals and rites for the worship of the Living Mountain. Which chants to use for which sacrifices, which prayers to conduct for which purpose. They also studied how the trees, grains, and vegetables grew, where to grow them, and how their growth impacted the land. Then, with dusk coming came dinner. A lighter affair, with simple vegetables and fruits. Once dinner was resolved, Huo and the other students threw themselves on their cots to sleep until the next day.
Days seemed to blend together in this new routine. Only broken when a new student would join their group or when a monk would pull a student out. New students joining was always welcomed, more hands make for lighter work. When a monk pulled a student out though, there were two possibilities. In a week, the student would join the elder students on the training grounds as if nothing had happened. Or, alternatively, Huo wouldn't see them on the training grounds again. Admittedly, that had only happened once, though he still saw Re sometimes at mealtimes.
Then, a little over a year after he had joined, it was his turn. Just after lunch, a monk motioned Huo over and through a doorway into a part of the monastery the students never visited. In short order, however, he was shown to a small room where an older monk was sitting with a glittering red stone in his lap. Sitting down, Huo waited patiently for the aging man to speak as the other monk closed the door and left.
"You are of an age to more easily determine your ability to walk down the path of immortality." The monk began with a dry voice. "However, we will not be using tools or techniques to make this test easy or painless. So the choice is yours, to attempt the test and subject yourself to pain with no guarantee of success, or to divest yourself of the opportunity."
"I will take the test, honored sir."
"Very well," the monk said with a smile, "the test is simple in design. Do not let the ember I give you extinguish."
Suddenly, Huo felt the monk's hands against his stomach and a spark of something writhe its way into his being. A burning ember made itself known in a part of himself that he had never felt before. Then the pain began, but through the searing heat he could feel that the ember was dying. It needed fuel. A cool weight settled into his lap as Huo vaguely noticed that the red gem had been given to him. As he breathed in the pattern drilled into him by the priests to distance himself from pain, he noticed that something was being drawn in from the stone. It was the fuel the ember needed. A bare trickle, just enough to slow down the cooling of the ember. So Huo fought with it, focusing his entire attention on breathing correctly and drawing the fuel to the ember. A haze settled over him as he struggled with the stone and fuel, drawing as much in as he could. Most of the fuel dispersed into the air, wasted. Enough, though, entered him and kept the ember alive. Until there was no more fuel left. And the ember died.
A cool cup was pressed to his lips and Huo drank a sweet liquid that somehow tasted of lazy summer days. When his eyes refocused on the priest, he saw that they were smiling.
"Congratulations Brother Huo, you are able to walk the path of immortality. I eagerly await to see how far you will journey."
A/N:
@yrsillar another omake for the omake throne! This one popped into my head about a monastery devoted to Zhengui using the idea of providing fuel to embers to test aspirants for the potential to be cultivators. Also, training them in basic breathing techniques before they ever touch qi to give them an edge for drawing in the qi when the time comes. I hope you enjoyed the read!
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