The week flew by for Gregory— he only briefly saw the thin blue lines once more during aether introduction. Once again, it was only obliquely, so he was still wondering if he was actually seeing the lines or just imagining them.
He was frustrated that he continued losing to Yukiko during conditioning. He knew he was getting better over the course of the week because she had to work to get him down, but he had not managed a single score on her. The adepts came by and gave him pointers that helped him along with Yukiko’s advice, but he felt that he was not learning fast enough.
Their time in the archive before class and in the open period they created helped the two of them get a better feel for the clans over the course of the week. The five great clans did great things for the empire, but also seemed to care more for themselves than anything else over all. The smaller clans had all started off as satellites of the five great clans, but slowly found their own ideals.
Gregory was struggling in economics class, but he discovered that he was not the only one. Only Yukiko and Samuel, the son of a well-known blacksmith, were able to understand everything Magus Marcia threw at them. Gregory was getting a handle on it after classes, as he and Yukiko would review the material for a half hour before bed.
They had breakfast together as normal on the morning of their day off before they went to the archive. Gregory had not yet read about a single clan he would have liked to join, and he had finished two books on them. Yukiko said she had not found the clan for her yet either.
Entering the archive, they were surprised to see Rafiq there. “I thought today was your day off?” Gregory greeted the eurtik.
“Someone fell ill,” Rafiq shrugged. “I’m only filling in for a few hours. Did you need new books today?”
“Yes…” Gregory said slowly, wondering how to phrase his request. “I meditated the other day and found myself in a cavern with a flame. Is there anything that will help me understand it more?”
“Spirit path,” Rafiq said, looking surprised. “I’ll pull a scroll for you.”
“Oh, I was wondering about that,” Yukiko said. “I saw that place yesterday.”
“Both of you are following the spirit path? Hmm, I shall bring a collection of scrolls for you to look through. If you are just seeing the cavern of aether, you still have time to choose another path. Keep that in mind.”
Gregory tried not to smile, “Understood. We’d like to know more about the cavern.”
“Very well. The scrolls will be delivered shortly.”
The friends had barely taken their seats when an archivist brought them a pair of scrolls. Gregory thanked the mouse-eared eurtik and opened the scroll that had been handed to him.
If you are reading this, you are one of the few who have embarked on the path of spirit. It is the least celebrated path in the empire, and roundly criticized by the great houses as inferior to body or mind. They have a single point correct— it is slower than the other paths. They have managed to marginalize it over the last few centuries, which is a pity.
You are reading this for advice, though, not to listen to an old man ramble on about the follies of youth. The archivists would only have given you this scroll if you’ve seen the cavern of aether we all have inside of us. Only those who tread the spirit path see the cavern and can understand the majesty of it.
Let’s start at the beginning: meditation is the key to the spirit path.
Gregory was lost in the scroll when a hand touched his shoulder and broke him out of the moment. “Huh?”
“Seventh bell,” Yukiko told him. “We have a little over two hours to get the physical training in before you’re supposed to meet up with Nick at the eleventh bell.”
“Right,” Gregory replied, rolling the scroll closed.
Rafiq was not at the front when they left, and both were quiet as they began the walk to the training hall. The morning sun was just starting to cast light when Gregory broached the subject of the scrolls.
“What did yours say?”
“The scroll I read seems to have been written a couple hundred years ago,” Yukiko sighed. “Some of the phrasing is difficult to parse. The bit I could make out talked about the cavern only being seen by those who are on the spirit path.”
“Mine said the same thing.”
“The fire inside the cavern is directly tied to your aether. As you expand your aether, the fire grows, but slowly. The spirit path is dedicated to having your flame as dense as it can be.”
“The scroll I was reading mentioned channels in the walls. Did yours mention them?”
“No.”
“The author seems to have been between spirit and body paths when they wrote it. He hypothesized that the channels were made by the body path, making it easier for the flame to travel to different parts of the body. As the writer worked on the body path, the channels grew a little deeper and wider, but the cavern became harder to connect with.”
“I think I saw them,” Yukiko said, excitement coloring her tone. “They weren’t big and barely indented into the walls, but there were clear, obvious indentions about as deep and wide as my pinkie’s last knuckle.”
“I saw similar ones,” Gregory agreed. “What if it helps create the channels for aether to flow through the body easier? That could explain why body path followers can use less aether to get the same effects as other paths when it comes to fighting.”
Yukiko considered the implication as they walked. “If the body path does create channels for the aether, and the spirit path lets you contemplate your aether and how it works, what does the mind path do?”
“Maybe that’ll be in one of the next scrolls we read?”
“Perhaps,” Yukiko agreed. “Ready for training?”
“Can we go a little slower so you can explain why I lose each time? The adepts don’t want you to, but they won’t be here to stop us today,” Gregory asked.
“Does it bother you?” Yukiko asked as they stepped into the training hall and saw that no one was there. “Losing to me all the time?”
“A little, but not because it’s you. It’s because I should be good enough to be your partner.”
Yukiko’s eyes sparkled and she swallowed hard. “I’ll do my best, Greg.”
“So will I, Yuki.”
Trading their shoes for slippers, they went to an empty room to face each other in. Gregory focused, studying Yukiko as she settled into her preferred stance, trying to find a weakness he could use.
~*~*~
Tenth bell brought them to a stop, both covered in sweat and panting. Gregory shook his head in frustration as he got off the floor again.
“You are improving,” Yukiko said.
“Still haven’t managed to put you down,” Gregory grumbled. “Feel like I’m being toyed with.”
“No,” Yukiko said quickly, holding out her hand, palm toward him. “I have to work hard to stop you. Believe me, Greg.”
Exhaling to try get rid of his frustration, he nodded. “I do, Yuki. I’ll see you for dinner and study, right?”
“Yes, I’ll be at the dormitory by the eighteenth bell.”
“See you then,” Gregory replied, making his way to the showers to clean up.
“Greg…” Yuki called after him hesitantly.
“Yeah?” Pausing in the doorway, he looked back at her.
“Do you need any vela for today? I have some if you need it.”
Gregory stopped his first reply, which was tinged with his frustration. Seeing her worried eyes, he shook his head, “No, Yuki. Nick said it was all taken care of.”
“Oh. Okay. Umm… are you considering joining them?”
“The Eternal Flame?”
“Yes.”
“Not at the moment, though Nick wants to make it hard by being as friendly as he is. I doubt there’d be any…” He trailed off as he thought about what Nick had said about Yukiko’s betrothal being voided if she joined.
“Any what?”
“Huh? Oh, sorry. Any reason to join. I do want to join a clan where I know someone to make things easier.”
“So do I,” Yukiko murmured too softly for Gregory to hear, before she cleared her throat. “I was just curious. I’ll see you tonight.”
“Yeah. Have fun with Michelle and the others.”
“You, too.”
The eleventh bell was chiming when Gregory met up with Nick and the others by the main gate. “Sorry for the delay.”
“It’s fine. Fureno just got here, too,” Nick shrugged. “Now that everyone is here, we can get going.” Gregory turned to start for the postern gate when Nick stopped him. “The carriage is waiting for us this way.”
Following Nick and the others, Gregory was surprised to find a stable tucked away behind a screen of trees a few hundred yards away from the main gates. Nick motioned to a carriage, and the group moved to the side. The bright red carriage came to a halt near them, the emblem of the Eternal Flame emblazoned on the door.
“This will take us where we need to go. Everyone in,” Nick said, opening the door. “Time to show you another perk of joining the Eternal Flame.”
The carriage was large, but it was a little crowded with them all inside, so Nick had Fureno go ride with the driver. Fureno grumbled but did as he was told, and a few moments later, the carriage started to roll.
“Surprised I wasn’t the one to ride with the driver,” Gregory said as the carriage paused for the gates.
“Fureno knows propriety,” Nick shrugged. “He’s along for the ride currently, but he needs to improve in conditioning and in magic. We can’t just have everyone join the clan, after all.”
“I didn’t think any novice could join a clan until after the first tournament.”
“Officially join,” Nick chuckled. “My family has been with the Eternal Flame since its founding. Everyone knows that I’ll be joining them as soon as the rules allow. It’s your good fortune to be in the same year as me.”
“You’re scouting the novices for those who’ll fit in, making it easier for the clan later.”
“We all help the clan as we can,” Nick grinned. “Was glad you decided to join us. Thought for sure you were going to decline and stay at Yukiko’s beck and call.”
Gregory frowned, “I don’t stay at her beck and call.”
“Seems like it to us,” Jason snickered. “You even let her thrash you in sparring every day.”
“I don’t let her thrash me; she’s just more skilled,” Gregory said tightly.
“Maybe you should partner up with Jason or Fureno, then,” Nick suggested. “I understand the attraction you have to her, but it’s not good to let a woman you’re interested in unman you over and over again, especially in front of others.”
“Maybe,” Gregory said grudgingly.
“We heading to—” Jason began to ask, but Nick cut him off.
“Of course. Have to let the others see one of the major perks of joining the clan.”
