Chapter 25 – Testing Philosophy
"At least they seem to have an idea of who the bomber was now," Dave said.
Yeah, hopefully they can get the issue resolved, SJ thought. The memory of the explosion back in Asterfal still weighed heavily on her. I should go and check on Kibble, and I can't wait to let them know about the funding for the flying school.
"I wonder what will happen to the being that was no longer in the chamber when we went back there," Dave said, as SJ made her way to the riding school.
I don't know. I don't know whether they were directly involved or just worked in the area where the mistake had been made.
"For them to have been removed from the council chamber mid-meeting, they must have had some guilt."
Perhaps, SJ thought. The flight school had its usual busy feel as she arrived, with several beings moving around, sorting out various elements for the five Wyverns, all standing perfectly aligned with their saddles, ready to fly. Cristy was sitting with a group of new riders, discussing patrol plans.
SJ didn't interrupt as she allowed Cristy to finish her conversation with the riders before approaching her.
"Hey, Cristy!" SJ said. "Have you seen Kibble?"
"Hi, SJ. He was here earlier, but I'm not sure where he's gone now."
SJ hadn't opened her display to check whether Kibble was still at the flight school; she had assumed he would be, after what he'd said this morning. Cursing at not considering the fact that he had decided to go off somewhere else, she opened her display to see that his dot was once again down by the docks.
"Looks like I wasted my time then," SJ said.
"How can it be a wasted time when you've come to see me?" Cristy smiled, straightening the parchments she had been reading through and rolling up the map, which she had traced the patrol routes on.
SJ chuckled. "Yes, you're right there. I'm always grateful when I come and see you."
"Have you got nothing else to do with the Chancellor?"
"No, we've finished the final business now. One thing that you will be happy about, though, and I need to speak to Lorna when I see her, is that Asterfal has agreed to support funding the flight school."
"That's great news, especially considering how much food the Wyverns eat. I'm not sure we could continue to dedicate the hunters that are needed to gather enough food for them. Not without affecting what they then deliver to the town."
"What do you mean? You're getting the hunters to go hunting for the Wyverns?"
"Well, yeah, we have to provide them with food."
"Why don't they just go hunting themselves? They do so in the valley, easy enough."
"Lorna doesn't want them free-hunting around the plateau area when they're here at the riding school. She's concerned they may disrupt the surrounding forest, affecting the animals still in the area. The last thing we need is for the hunting areas around the town to be affected. It's already getting challenging enough to maintain the amount of food that we need just for the township. Darren has hunting parties in the western valley and in several areas around the plateau."
"I suppose that makes sense."
"Lieutenant, they're ready to take off," one of the flight school hands said as they approached Cristy.
Cristy turned to acknowledge them. "That's great. Let them go then, and we'll see how they get on."
The hand hurried over to where the five Wyverns were standing with their riders now mounted on their backs. With a flourish of his arms, he waved two flags, and with the beat of their wings, the five of them took off into the air. They let out a screech as they sailed over their heads, soon disappearing above the forest.
It was still strange for SJ every time she heard Cristy being called 'Lieutenant'. She had grown so much over the past 12 months since her coming of age. Only a few weeks before her coming of age, Cristy had been sitting on her knee while she read her a book, yet now she towered over SJ. It filled SJ with pride to see how much she'd come along.
"I'm heading back to Asterfal tomorrow. I have some tasks to finish there."
"Again?" Cristy sighed.
"Yeah, I need to spend time checking the details of the latest quest I've been assigned."
"You haven't told me the details of what it is yet."
"And for the moment, I'm not going to."
"Why not?"
"The less you know about this current quest, the better," SJ said, shaking her head.
Since SJ started completing more of the assassination quests for the guild, she didn't always let Cristy know the details of what she had been up to. A lot of the time, she tried to keep it away from Killic and the members who lived there.
"I wish I could come with you through your portal. It'd make things so much easier."
"No, it can't be done," Dave said emphatically.
"That's not possible, unfortunately. The portals only work for individuals unless they're ones that have been constructed, which cost ridiculous sums of money, and then the townships can use them. Asterfal itself doesn't have a portal, which, when you consider it's the capital city of the South, I would have thought, if anywhere, it would have it."
"I know; it just makes things so much easier. I'd be able to go and see Lurtew and Yawnee, as well as go over to see the enclave."
"It would make travel a lot easier for us, and save so much time," SJ agreed. "Right, I'm going to go and find that troublesome little tearaway. If I don't see you before, I'll see you at the Hogling Arms later for the final meal."
"No problem," Cristy said, chuckling at SJ's comment about Kibble.
"I've been thinking," Dave said as they left the riding school and started to head through town, working their way towards the dockside.
What have I told you about that before? You must be careful thinking.
Dave scoffed. "Would you like to hear my amazing idea or not?"
Oh, please do tell, SJ thought sarcastically.
"If you're going to be like that, I'm not going to share my thoughts with you," Dave hmphed.
You know I was only joking. Please, Dave, what's your idea?
"Well, you know, we wanted to try and get closer to the chief in Asterfal? I was thinking about what we could do to try to do it. And the one thing we know she does is cage fighting. Jay's a cage fighter. Therefore, why don't we try to get close to her again by organising a fight?"
No, it can't happen. Jay's built a life here now. He's got a partner, friends. It's where his home is. I'm not asking him to return to that world and leave his new family. It's not fair.
"It just seemed like the easiest way in," Dave sulked.
I agree with your thinking. I'm just not getting Jay involved in it. I wonder if there's something else we could do to entice the Chief.
"SJ," the voice of Liam called.
"Hi Liam, you needed something?"
"Since the Chancellor is currently still busy with Zigferd, I thought we might as well take the opportunity to discuss your training."
"I was just on my way to collect Kibble from the docks. If you'd accompany me, we could then head to the meadow afterwards."
"Sounds good," Liam said as he fell in beside SJ as they headed to the docks. SJ could see Liam in her adaptive vision as he walked alongside her without having to turn. It was amazing to watch his face; his eyes darted constantly as he checked virtually everything as they walked through the streets. It wasn't paranoia, but the act of someone who was exceedingly skilled at making sure they knew exactly what was going on around them.
"Kibble!" SJ called as they made their way to the dock area, and she found him standing on the side of one of the piers. One of the fishermen had just returned with their catch, and Kibble was busy hopping up and down trying to get given some of the fish that they had brought back with them.
As SJ neared, she realised that Situ, Setu's eldest sprogling, was the one who was in charge of the boat.
"Hi Situ. I didn't realise you had your own boat now." SJ said, surprised.
Situ beamed with pride as he turned to SJ. "Hi SJ, yeah, I've had one now for two weeks."
SJ has come to realise that goblins were quite similar to gnolls in relation to their coming of age. Cristy had only been 5 after all when she reached her coming-of-age and matured. And Situ, now looking at him, couldn't have been much older.
"And how are you finding it?" SJ asked.
"Hard work," Situ sighed, "and my hands and shoulders constantly ache from pulling the nets in continually. But if I want to prove myself to Mum and Dad, it's something that I need to do."
SJ smiled at Situ. She looked in her inventory and pulled her dryac out. "Here you go," SJ said, handing it to Situ.
"What is it?" Situ frowned as he saw the small jar that SJ had passed to him.
"It's dryac that I get from Grewlas. You know the alchemy shop on the main street? I don't use it very often these days, and I can pick up some more if needed. Just rub it on any aching area. It will help reduce the soreness."
"I can't take this from you. It must have cost you a fortune."
"I insist. Just take it as a gift."
"Thank you," Situ said, his cheeks colouring. He lifted one of the catch from the boat and threw it onto the dockside to Kibble.
"And you shouldn't be feeding Kibble the fish you've been catching, either. It's not as if he goes without food."
"It's only fair. You've given me something, so I'll give something back in return."
Kibble picked the big fish up in his mouth and started chomping on it happily. "Come on, Kibble, you're coming back with me," SJ said.
"Where are we going?" Kibble asked.
"To the meadow to practise some new training with Brother Liam."
Kibble had almost wolfed the fish down and flicked his head back with the last morsel, swallowing. "Okay," he replied with a mouthful of food.
Kibble flew up and landed on SJ's shoulder as they turned and headed back into town to the hidden meadow. On arrival, it looked as beautiful as ever, with its wild grasses and stunning flowers, and insects buzzing around.
"Now, I wasn't expecting to see a place like this in the centre of town," Liam said.
"It became my regular training spot when I first arrived in Killic. I always come back here when I'm able to."
"It does seem rather peaceful compared to the hustle and bustle of the streets."
"You mentioned various techniques that you wanted to show me, and once I understood them, I'd be able to carry them out on my own."
“There are two basic techniques initially that you need to try and understand. The first is called the listening stone.” Liam shifted his stance, standing with his feet a shoulder-width apart. His knees were slightly bent, and his arms were loose at his sides. He began breathing slowly and deeply. He didn't move, just stood there. Liam didn't speak, just stood there, his eyes open in silence.
SJ looked at him, confusion on her face. "And what's this meant to do?" she said, copying his stance.
"To be able to consider the following stages in your martial arts, first and foremost, you must be in a position to accept and see what is around us. This technique helps you consider the various things you need to advance your skills. Can you feel the sun's warmth? Can you feel the breeze that's rustling the grasses? Can you hear the buzz of the insects? Can you feel the peace that surrounds you? Only once you've mastered these areas simultaneously will you be able to sense the emotional weight of someone approaching you and the hostility that may be directed against you."
SJ already had her enhanced senses through the symbiosis with Bob. So, it was unclear what benefit this technique would actually give her. She didn't question, though, and stood there exactly the way that Liam was focusing on the various elements that he'd mentioned. The actual concept was more complicated than she thought. She could concentrate on or consider one area at a time, but at no point could she consider them all together.
Kibble, after the first few minutes of remaining perched on SJ's shoulder, had got bored and had jumped down and was now hopping through the grasses chasing insects. That really wasn't helping SJ with her focus, and she thought it might have been best if she had left him down at the docks.
"I'm sorry," SJ said, standing upright again. "I just can't focus with Kibble moving around the way he is."
Liam maintained his position while replying to SJ. "It's actually perfect training for you if you can manage to cut out distractions around you and focus on the key elements. It's exactly what you're seeking."
Liam exhaled sharply before standing straight again.
"The second technique that I am going to show you is something called the silken thread. It is similar to the katas you have practised and learned previously, but is more deliberate and slower in its movements. If you can manage to visualise what you are doing ... and eventually become skilled enough in it, you will develop the ability to see energy flow."
"And what benefit does that bring?" SJ asked.
"When you were attacking me in your room yesterday evening, how do you think I was able to calculate your movement and move so easily out of your way?"
SJ hadn't even got close to touching him the whole time that she'd been attempting to strike him. She had been getting more and more frustrated with each attempt. Liam's movements had been effortless and almost inconsequential.
"Once you understand the technique, you can predict and see movements as they approach you. It will enable you to dodge or deflect blows more easily."
Liam began to do what SJ could only describe as a dance. His arms moved in circles, his fingertips tracing symbols in the air as he swept his arms wide in circular motions. Each movement was slow and deliberate. There is no haste, no speed, no action, and at no point did he even increase his breathing or probably even his pulse. It actually reminded SJ of the Tai Chi she'd seen groups perform in London's parks.
Taking up a stance similar to her original kata, she slowly but carefully followed Liam's movements, copying exactly what he was doing. This felt much more natural than the initial standing as still as a statue and trying to focus on four different areas at once.
"Very good," Liam said. "Your previous kata knowledge is obviously helping with this. I don't think it will take you long to master this foundation."
"At least this one appears easier," SJ said.
"Yes, but you must remember that all the time it's the speed of the movements that's critical. If you speed up or adjust them too sharply, then you will fail to master the technique."
SJ felt pretty confident about this one. "I think I'll be fine with this technique," she smiled. The movements were indeed relaxing, and she felt as though her mind were clearing as she continued to copy him.
Liam stopped the technique and stood as SJ finished her last few movements. "I have one more technique to show you. This many find the strangest of all."
SJ frowned at Liam's comment. "Why is it strange?"
"People believe that martial arts is about brute force and striking head-on, but it's anything but. By understanding the spiralized concept and working through it, we can discover that the entry and exit of every motion are always the same. The aim is to find that unity in movement and perform the actions with precise action every time, not force."
Liam stood in a general martial arts stance, then spun slightly before lunging and dipping low, pushing back up onto his toes, then repeating it in the other direction. There seemed to be no thought in the direction, just different from the path he had been on. It became rather strange caterpillar-type movement as he worked within a small area.
SJ couldn't be sure, but although it appeared random, she wasn't actually sure it was.
Liam came to rest. "Your turn."
SJ started to copy the actions. It was more complicated than she thought to choose a direction randomly; her body was trying to force her on specific paths when she spun, and it wasn't long before her thighs began to burn from the lunging motion.
"This is harder than it looks," SJ said, rubbing her thighs.
Liam smiled. "It's the hardest of the three to master, but once you do, it becomes second nature."
"I see. So if I master these three techniques, does that mean I'll be in a position to advance when the time allows?"
"Yes, critically. If you can master these three techniques, they will give you the initial stepping stones for your next stage in your martial arts development. Without these skills, though, you won't be able to move on to Veil of the Hearth, Flowing Willow, and Cascading Fall."
"And that's it. This is all I need to do to advance."
Liam smiled. "I wouldn't say all you need to do, but it's your first stepping stone."
"I see," SJ said.
Liam suddenly reached up to his ear, where his communication clip sat. “I must go. Sorry, the Chancellor requires me.”
“No problem. Thank you very much for the insight.”
Kibble was still busy chasing insects around the meadow, quite happy and content. As Liam departed, SJ remained. The afternoon sun cast shadows through the swaying grasses, and this hidden space in the middle of the town was the place she had always loved and cherished.
All right, she thought, taking a breath. Let's try this again.
She once again assumed the first stance, her feet shoulder-width apart, her knees soft, her arms loose by her sides. She closed her eyes for several moments and slowly and deliberately breathed before opening them again. Eventually, after what seemed like a few minutes, she felt the sun's warmth and heard the insects. But she still couldn't sense the breeze unless she lost sight of the other two.
Her thoughts rebelled against her as she suddenly realised that she was basically making a checklist and trying to tick things off as they occurred. "This can't be the way this happens," she muttered.
"You're trying to grasp at individual things," Dave chimed in, his voice uncharacteristically calm. "The approach is to consider them all as one; don't pull them individually; let them form before you."
"When did you suddenly become a philosopher?" SJ said.
"I've always been philosophical," Dave complained.
She returned to the technique, considering what Dave had stated. It took several minutes before she suddenly felt a calm wash over her; it was only momentary, but in that mere instant, she felt something different, almost peaceful. As fast as it had come, it had vanished, and she could only believe that was what she was trying to achieve. This reminded her somewhat of the training she had undergone in tailoring, learning to push her mana into the materials.
SJ stood upright again and let out a deep sigh, a feeling of satisfaction. "Okay, I think I'm gonna call this for now. I need to head back to the Wanderer's Rest anyway. It's nearly time to get ready before heading to the Hogling Arms. Kibble!" she called.
Kibble's small head appeared from behind the trunk of a tree, near the meadow's edge, a bright yellow beetle in his jaws.
"Come on, we're going now, back to the Wanderer's Rest."
He took off before gliding onto and landing on SJ's shoulder, crunching in her ear as he munched through the beetle.
"You could have finished that first," SJ groaned as she left the meadow. As she made her way back, she ran through the various techniques in her mind. None of them required a large area to perform, and she could easily practise them in her room, though she wasn't certain whether the first technique required being outside. I'll need to check with Liam, she thought as she entered the Wanderer's Rest.
