piratefiction Chapter 4: Cultivation?
Chapter 4: Cultivation?
Chapter 4: Cultivation?
The two brothers stared at their fathers back in silence as both parents made their expeditious departure.
Thoughts spinning in curious fashion, Auslen ruminated upon the new word was ringing within his head.
Cultivation? Is that somehow related to the miracles that Mother spoke about earlier?
Auslen turned to carefully examine his brothers appearance, quietly considering.
Well, Aiden should almost be eight years old by now, so he surely has passed the supposed age requirement. Maybe I can glimpse some secrets from this foolish boy during these next couple of days.
At this moment, Aiden shifting his eyes to meet Auslens, suddenly flinching from shock due to his younger brothers intense gaze, faint traces of pink beginning to color his fair cheeks.
Auslen giggled brightly before waddling closer to Aiden, lifting his small arms up towards the taller boy.
bwothew, wifff mee! (Brother, lift me!)
Stifling his mouth that had twitched uncontrollably, Aiden carefully maintained his practiced demeanor. He sighed in slight embarrassment before bending down to lift the smiling Auslen into his embrace.
He then began his careful trek along the on the sandstone tile pathway as he made his way to the entrance of the garden.
Within his arms, Auslen glanced up at the fruit trees along the path, wishing he could will down a few plums to snack on. Regrettably, he only had seven baby teeth currently to his name, and he had no desire to lose any of them just yet.
During Auslen's day-dream-filled silence, Aiden arrived at the garden entrance, where he located his two manservants and four guards patiently waiting.
Each of them bowed together towards the two princes before falling behind the still moving Aiden in two neat rows.
The group continued on their way.
Eventually, the magnificently large Royal Palace gradually came into view.
Auslen shook his head once again in honest praise at the sight.
Wide-spreading arches and domes spanned the grounds. The thick palace walls were composed of large white, bronze, and gold colored bricks, each wall lined with the most beautiful sculptures Auslen had ever witnessed, the grandiose image somewhat reminding him of paintings of ancient Roman and Greek architecture that he had seen on occasion in his previous life.
In fact, the architectural correlations were frighteningly numerous, which had filled Auslens eyes with suspicion more than once.
As they ascended the wide steps to enter through the door-less, arched entrance, Auslens eyes were automatically attracted to the remarkably tall, vaulted ceilings that, in many sections, were only supported by vast lengths of carved, golden columns.
As he lowered his gaze at the endless white, marbled floors, Auslen was once again reminded of the unimaginable amounts of wealth that his family boasted in this new life. He had the pleasure of witnessing this scene nearly everyday for an entire year, and yet he still couldnt quite get used to it.
Some of my old friends would have quite literally killed themselves to witness such a wondrous scene, even just once! I seemed to have truly lucked-out with that killer-lamp that my dear Abigail brought me. What a filial grandchild she was.
Just as he was silently calculating the number of sculptors needed in order to produce the exhausting number of faceless sculptures that lined many walkways and littered the rest of the estate, rapidly-moving figures in the corner of his eye drew his attention.
Through the columns, Auslen could vaguely see two human figures shooting into the skies, figures whom he assumed to belong to his strange parents.
This scene nearly made him sigh aloud in amazement.
Remembering his fathers previous words, Auslen looked up at Aiden, who had his eyes trained on the quickly disappearing figures in the sky. Auslen touched the boys face gently to seize his attention.
bwothew, wats cuwivashin? (Brother, whats cultivation?)
The easily startled Aiden gave a small jump at Auslens touch, as if he forgot he was carrying a baby in his arms.
He coughed before his childish voice resonated through the hallway questioningly, Cultivation? Is that what you meant?
Auslens head nodded wildly, trying his best to convey his eagerness to learn.
Excitement emerging due to the fact that he had finally possessed knowledge that someone else didnt, Aiden instantly became earnest, his stiff-faced persona collapsing abruptly as he concentrated on his words.
He even forgot to make the explanation suitable for infants before he recited from memory, Cultivation is the act of absorbing Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi into the body, refining it constantly within the Dao Roots until it transforms into a useable form of energy, known as Profound Qi. Once that successfully occurs, you will become a cultivator!
a cuwivata? (A cultivator?)
Cultivators are beings that wield great strength and practice miraculous martial techniques! They can live for hundreds and even thousands of years!
Holy shit!
Auslen froze in astonished thought, Thousands of years?! What the fuck? Is that even human anymore?
After his thoughts calmed down somewhat, he looked back at Aiden and asked, awe yoos cuwivata, bwothew? (Are you a cultivator, Brother?)
Aiden had no choice but to raise his sword in defense, hastily spinning strands of Profound Qi through his arm meridians as he blocked the incoming attack with a vertical parry, giving him time to adjust his footing.
Gerard was unyielding as he released sword strike after sword strike, Aiden dodging what he could, blocking what he could not, and countering when neither worked.
At certain points Aidens body turned nearly ephemeral in his quick movements, causing Auslen to rub his eyes in confusion.
Their spar lasted for around twenty minutes before the profusely sweating Aiden collapsed on his backside, heaving violently. He could not seem to force enough air into his lungs.
Gerard lowered his wooden sword slowly, stepping back to give the exhausted Aiden some space.
Suddenly, a burst of tiny claps resounded in the silent room.
Auslen was smiling brightly as his hands clapped with big motions, causing Aiden who was laying on the floor with his eyes closed to let out a soft, appreciative smile towards him.
In actuality, Auslen didnt gain much satisfaction from the rough beating that his older brother endured for so long. He couldnt even comprehend 90% of what had just occurred.
However, he still could recognize the childs extraordinary achievements at such a young age and was content with the foolish boys intense work ethic.
Now he could see that, even if Aiden wasnt a true cultivator yet, he was definitely both stronger and faster than any ordinary human being.
Gerard turned his head toward the clapping sound, his clean and unblemished face producing a rough smirk in Auslens direction.
Waiting for Auslens claps to cease, Gerard asked, Are you interested in the sword, little Prince?
Without even bothering to lie to the man, Auslen denied loudly, noe! (No!)
Gerard suddenly choked on his saliva.
After coughing to relieve himself of his discomfort from the unexpected response, he frowned and asked, Then why were you clapping so loudly just now?
Auslen shamelessly replied, cuz me wike my bwothew! me wike his sowod! (Because I like my brother! I like his sword!)
Aidens face couldnt grow any redder.
Gerard cursed inwardly to himself for his impatience.
Losing interest in prematurely nabbing Auslen as his disciple for now, he turned back to Aiden with a serious, but satisfied expression.
Your movements were good just now! At times, you let your nerves get the best of you. However your ability to minimize how your nerves affect your movements is showing noticeable improvement. Most importantly, your Phantom Steps Martial Technique has finally touched the threshold of the Minor Success Stage! It wont be long now before I can begin to teach you how to truly use the sword!
Aiden couldnt help but laugh tiredly in relief at his masters sincere praise.
He had been practicing the Phantom Steps since he first started cultivation at the age of six, and he wasnt allowed to practice any other Martial Technique until he could reach the Minor Success Stage in his Steps.
Now that he could faintly touch the first threshold, he began to feel that all the pain and sweat were finally worth something tangible.
Both Auslen and Aiden sat in the same large bathtub, servants working busily around them as they lathered and scrubbed the boys bodies in practiced motions.
Once they finished, both children were rubbed dry with soft embroidered towels before they were dressed in thin, white night robes.
After the servants finally let them free, Auslen collapsed on Aidens extremely large bed in exhaustion, his blonde hair spread carelessly underneath him.
His previously burning enthusiasm for cultivation had cooled somewhat after witnessing the distress his foolish older brother had to go through on a regular basis.
As Auslen was lost in his tired thoughts, Aiden suddenly sat up beside him with a gleaming look in his eyes. It was apparent that the excitement brought on due to his masters earlier praise had yet to dissipate.
The little boy looked at Auslen before he began to tirelessly chatter, Lets go out tomorrow! I finally have a day off from training, and I want to see a play at the Amphitheatre and eat food that isnt made in the Palace! You havent traveled outside of the Royal Palace Grounds, right? Ok, its set!"
Auslen watched in exasperation as the boy made plans and determined his agreement to those plans all by himself.
However, he suddenly remembered that he wasnt quite in any position to have an opinion on such things. Otherwise he would have visited the Capital City himself long ago.
But then again, he was somewhat excited himself. He had long wondered about the cultures of normal people within this world. He couldnt quite seem to imagine it, as he was afraid that he had already been tainted by his current mind-numbingly lavish lifestyle.
Anticipation began to build within Auslen as he looked back at his brothers animated face. He could see that Aiden seemed to have completely forgotten about the blank expression that he had previously worked so hard to maintain.
Extending his small lips into his signature bright smile, Auslen raised his arms and exclaimed, yea, wets go to capiwo! (Yeah, lets go to the Capital!)