The Heavens Shall Fall

The summer went by really fast, especially with Elder Tane returning. The constant training sessions had picked up again, and now autumn was also already half gone. The air was still warm, but nights and mornings were growing colder, and fewer sunny days awaited the disciples as more and more rainclouds were visiting the sect's grounds. The training fields were also wet when Siu arrived, forcing him to constantly wash and change clothes... especially because, somehow, after every session, he looked like a boar that had taken a mud bath.

It wasn't different today either.

The training had just started, and Siu’s body moved with all the speed he could muster, his stance dropping low as his center of gravity was almost touching the ground itself as he used the Wild Cat's agility to dodge. Or... tried to. His feet barely touched the ground, sliding just outside the incoming strike, only for it to still be not far enough, because a firm hand had caught his shoulder.

“Too slow!”

He saw it coming; however, he couldn't even tell how fast the hand was moving, but it looked... unhurried. Yet, it was still holding onto him the next moment.

But that didn't mean the fight was over, so Siu twisted his waist, abandoning the Wild Cat mid-motion, his muscles tensing as he rooted himself into the ground, expecting a throw to come, like when Bren had caught him. No, the feeling was different, it was making him stop moving so... Not a throw but a punch! Thinking about it, his entire frame was getting ready for it, trying to absorb the incoming force... and he was right. With a thumping sound, a dull but heavy shock had rushed through his body, down his spine, into his legs, and then dispersed into the mud, making it splash around like water, cracking the ground around the two.

Still, his body held out... and Siu moved again, using the still dispersing shock to attack. It was time for a counter.

His back straightened, his shoulders loosening, trying to flow out of the hold as his arm swept outward in a circular arc, doing his best to swat Elder Thane's holding hand away. The force that had entered him was still coursing through his body, and using some of it, it came back out through his hand. It managed to free him, but he could see how Elder Thane was already countering his counter. Tsk! If he tried to land it, the Elder would easily withstand it, while it would give him another blow against Siu.

Not wanting to trade punches, which would only benefit Elder Thane, Siu, without thinking, had adjusted on the fly, something that now came naturally and without a stutter. Managing to dodge and make up space between themselves, Siu exhaled through his nose, already shifting again, using the Fox's form to mask his next plan. The attacks he dished out seemed like they were going to immobilize the Elder's steps, and the moment he moved to dodge, Siu's arm whipped up towards his throat like a rabid dog, trying to bite him.

Siu's claw-shaped hand was a breath away from touching his skin, but it was stopped by two fingers simply pressing against the middle of his palm, jolting him out of everything, making him feel like someone had pushed a needle under his nail.

"Ffffff..." He hissed, biting his lower lip, pulling back his attack, stopping himself from cursing something really nasty directly into Elder Thane's face.

"You are considerably better by now.”

"T-thanks..." Siu said, wincing, sucking on his fingers, even though they weren't injured, the feeling was still there.

"Did I say to stop?"

"Shit!"

But it was too late: one moment, Siu stood there, thinking they had finished their training, and the next, the ground vanished beneath his feet as his body was lifted like a kid. His footing lost the touch of solid ground; his balance gone, unable to tell which was up and which was down, he was turned like a doll, and then slammed down. He hit the ground hard, rolling once before catching himself, his palm slamming against the muddy earth as he pushed up immediately, with surprisingly stable breathing, attacking from a downed position.

Without masking it, he was using the Wild Dog again; there was no other way to launch an attack from his current position. For a moment, it looked like it worked because he caught Elder Thane off guard; at least that was how he felt. He didn't expect him to strike from a downed position? He couldn't let his mind wander, pushing the questions down... and suddenly, one of his attacks slipped through.

He almost landed the hit, brushing his chest with his fingertips, but that was all because a palm struck his chest, breaking up his rhythm. The force behind it sent him sliding back across the field before he caught himself, his feet leaving two parallel lines in the dirt, hearing Elder Thane speak up through his ringing ears.

“Okay… That's enough.”

At first, he just looked up at him, deciding if this was a faint or not, but... it wasn't, so he exhaled, relaxing his muscles.

“Haaaah… Yes, Elder.”

While he was shaking his arms and legs, feeling his muscles and bones to determine if he needed a medicinal bath or not, Thane stood where he had been the entire time, watching him with an unreadable expression. But deep down... he was more than satisfied, he was even surprised twice in their fight. This boy... was going to be someone whom he would have to salute in a few decades.

“Your forms are synced up really well,” he said at last, watching Siu keep patting himself down, “But don't get cocky about it. A simple difference in the amount of available essence in your body and your opponent's is all it takes to turn all that advantage into nothing.”

"I understand, Elder Thane," Siu nodded once. "Bren also managed to catch me, and if not for Arya and Marly, he could have broken my spine."

"Mhm." He nodded, crossing his arms, "You were lucky to have tamed two beasts. Fighting with them, along with you, makes you even more dangerous, so in the afternoon, we will continue honing your group's synchronicity. I'm glad that you did not waste my absence.”

Siu’s head lifted slightly, holding a small smile, cupping his hands.

“Thank you, Elder.”

"Don't thank me, thank yourself," Thane hummed with a smile of his own, while his gaze began drifting toward the treeline before returning to Siu.

“You are missing two, hm?”

“Two…?" He asked, thinking of Arya and Marly who were with Neya, "Ah, yes. The Spider and Snake forms. I hadn't read up on them, yet either. I only looked at them enough to decide to take the Wild Dog instead of those two.”

“That was the correct decision because the Spider,” Thane said, dismissing it with a small shake of his head. “You are not there yet. It will be the last, only when you are stepping into the Blood Resonance stage.”

"I... See." Siu didn’t argue, but he became curious about why.

“The Snake is also one that I would say is for that stage, but,” Thane continued, as if reading his mind, "We can also use it to help you reach resonance earlier."

"By training with it?"

"Yes." He nodded, watching him catch on quickly, “It is not a traditional combat form,” Thane went on, being an actual teacher, “Not as you understand it, that is. You were almost crippled by Bren, so it will also help you familirize yourself with fighitng styles that work with grappling. The Snake's style has two modes," he began, raising a finger, "The first is a hunting variant. It makes you go still; it is all about switching between being tense and loose, turning your body into a spring. When you launch an attack, it will be instant and deadly."

"And if not?"

"That is where the second variant comes in." Thane added, putting up the second finger, "If you can't finish the enemy with one strike, you capture it. It will be all about holding them down, grappling, and immobilizing them. And to do these, you will need essence coursing through your body, an ample amount to keep exerting the required strength from your body. I will be honest... You are not ready for it."

"Because I'm still in the marrow cleansing stage?" Siu asked, not feeling annoyed by the assessment at all.

"Not exactly," Elder Thain said with a smile, "The Snake's true strength comes out in the Flesh Morhping stage; until then, you will only scratch the surface. No matter! It will still help because it will make your bones work extra hard and speed up the rate at which your marrow captures and generates essence."

"Elder Thane..." Siu muttered, watching his face, "That smile is... not convincing."

"There will be a lot of breaking." He nodded, keeping a smile that was now more of a smirk. "It will be... painful."

"..." Siu just kept looking at him, before exhaling, shaking his head, "When do we start?"

"In a day or two." Thane shrugged, patting down his hands, "Make sure your things are in order, I don't want you to go into the forest while learning the Snake Form. You will be under constant recovery from the training, so... You will be weakened."

"Then, good thing all the major issues had been settled!" He answered with a long sigh, running his fingers through his hair, suddenly unsure if he was happy that Elder Thane was back... or not.

...

....

......

The chamber of the Grand Elders was just as before, as they gathered around the long table at the center of the room, while outside, the sky was dark under the clouds, lightning flashing bright blue, illuminating them now and then.

“…the increase is too sharp to be dismissed as a coincidence.” Elder Lin's raspy voice spoke over the rumbling thunder with ease, "We can safely assume that they will try to interfere with our disciples if we meet again. Any of them, traveling in the border regions, must be warned of the fact."

"If they want a war, we can give them one." Elder Baat snorted, but it was not their right to declare it, even if they were Grand Elders. That was up to the Sect Master alone, and he didn't say anything... yet.

"We'll see." Elder Lin said in the end, moving on to the last topic in their quarterly meeting. “As for the outer disciples... Their advancement has risen across all tables,” he added, glancing briefly over the inked summaries before setting them aside. “A welcome change, especially now.”

“They’re finally working, then!” Elder Baat chuckled, looking at the others.

“That alone would not explain this scale of change,” Elder Lin continued, glancing at them one by one. “We have seen seasonal fluctuations before. But... This is… different.”

"What do you mean?" Elder Mei asked, raising a brow.

"It is the effect of one disciple." He smiled, looking around at the others. "We all know whom I speak of, yes?"

"So it's like that, huh?" Baat chortled, throwing a glance at Elder Yan, "Feeling familiar?"

“Stagnant waters require disturbance.” Elder Yan answered simply, "I would have been disappointed if his actions didn't cause a ripple. It is normal for actual talents to do so, anyway."

"I wonder whose ripple is bigger," Baat continued, "The one you made back then or his?"

“I’ve done worse.” She said without feeling ashamed, surprising the others, "His actions affected all the outers, which mine did not, when I was there."

“Got close to it, though,” Elder Lin said, leaning back slightly, his arms crossing over his chest, watching the now smiling Elder Yan, remembering how she was when she made her name heard around the sect for the first time, “At least this time, we didn't have to deal with burning buildings.”

"That can still happen," Baat said, stifling a laugh, "But I took a look at the changes, and I can see it too. The outers hadn't been so active and unified in a century or two. We are already seeing a good margin of breakthroughs. Not to mention, finally, the interest in Spirit Beasts had returned, too. It has not been this high since Yan's time there, hasn't it?"

The discussion hovered there for a moment, discussing the number of outers, their new desire to get beasts, doing their best to trap one... and all of it was always traced back to Siu's name one way or another.

"He is making waves..." Elder Mei muttered after hearing it, making Yan smile.

"And those who can ride it with him are going to be a great addition to our ranks." Eldr Yan said, also satisfied, smiling to himself.

"None of us is arguing about that," Mei nodded, "I'm in agreement. I even want to suggest that we hold another accepting trial, so we recruit more and give them a chance to catch onto this opportunity."

"I thought of the same," Lin spoke up after hearing her say that, "I am going to discuss it with the Sect Master tomorrow. It is an opportunity, after all."

It was a simple truth of cultivation, and chances like this had to be capitalized on because progress was rarely an isolated incident. When a disciple who can affect so many others at once appears... it will benefit more than just one individual.

"You may be late," Baat said suddenly, gazing directly at Yan, making her raise a brow.

"What do you mean?"

“One of our Elders, mmm," He stopped, searching for the name, "Elder Thane... I think that is his name, anyway, he has taken a particular interest in the boy.”

“Has he?” Elder Yan murmured, touching her chin, "He is a loyal one and a very good fighter. He is a Warrior Elder, isn't he?

"One of the best of his age group." Baat nodded once, “He’s been overseeing the boy’s training personally since his return, suppressing himself to match levels, teaching him constantly. Careful, Yan. If he decides to take the boy in… you might lose your chance because I think the boy would say yes, without thinking.”

A faint ripple of amusement passed through the room as Mei and Lin kept looking at Baat and Yan, while the latter's lips curved again.

"I'm not afraid of that," She answered, shaking her head in the end, "Elder Thane is a good teacher, but he can only take him to a certain point. I don't mind if someone lays down the groundwork that I can build on later."

"If you say so!" Baat said with a shrug, and the discussion did not return to the boy after that. It didn’t need to, really.

Not to mention, if a Grand Elder announces she wants to take a disciple... Even the Elders would happily revert to being one, given the chance.