(Intermission) Lore Chapter 2: Four paths of cultivation.
Second Life as the Sister of a Goddess by Jemini
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Author's note
 
And, the week long break is over! As stated before, there will be no more weekend releases, so this lore chapter is going to be it until Monday. From this point on, the release schedule will be just Monday, Wednesday, Friday. That said, I have mostly figured out the full plotting of the 3rd act. Really, the only question is the pacing, but it is looking like it will be considerably faster paced than previous chapters.
 
Also, I would like to thank Pedro for becoming a subscriber on SubscribeStar over the break. There's finally enough to buy a regular meal at a resteraunt once a month ;) Well, every little bit helps. Not quite enough yet to ease financial and other burdens as evidenced by the need to cut down the release schedule, but things are starting to shape up.
 
I have also officially upgraded the subscriber rewards to include 3 chapters at the $2.99 tier. I have also got 2 chapters at the basic tier now, but have also upped the basic tier cost to $2. (Nobody had subscribed at that level anyway, so no harm no foul.) Also, for those who just want to pitch in a little extra, there is now a $4 tier. There are no rewards above those that are already on the 2.99 tier yet so it really is just for those who want to pitch in extra, but a 4th advanced chapter will be added eventually and will only be available at that tier when that time comes.
 
Well then, enough personal yammerings, time for the lore chapter for all those who want to know a bit more about the cultivation in this world.
 

Intermission
 
There are many paths of magecraft and the road to godhood that one can take. Below, we shall look in on four such paths being discussed by those who use them.
 
(Note: Some of these conversations would take place sometime very early during Act 3. The future, from the perspective of anyone reading this in order.)
 
Eirlathion: Magecraft the path of Sorcery and the path of Wizardry
(Instruction to Túeth)
 
“Umm... maybe the spirit energy somehow controls the magic?”His apprentice, Túeth, said. It was good that she was picking this up rather quickly. He had always been of the opinion that the curiosity of most Elves was not great enough, but as soon as his apprentice had been sparked to begin thinking for herself and trying to explore answers on her own, she had begun learning very fast. She truly was a wonderful apprentice. About the only problem she had was that she seemed to lack self confidence due to her circumstances. Or rather, perhaps it was actually because of her lack of self importance that she was able to attain the humility necessary to learn? Well, if it works that’s fine. However, he would certainly not want to insist on the conditions Túeth had gone through in order to so break the spirit of the normally proud Elves in order to make them better apprentices.
 
Something in her seemed to have interpreted his pondering as him being displeased in some way, because she had a hurried tone as she began to continue and elaborate on her earlier answer. “So, the spirit... it is the energy of thought, so you need it to tell the mana what it is supposed to be doing, and that’s how you would make a spell.”
 
Exactly right, and very well phrased too. As soon as her self doubt had been shaken off, she gave a truly excellent answer. Eirlathion had originally decided to take her as an apprentice because he had sensed the peculiarity of her well developed spirit despite her lack of mage training, and also thought this would be a good way to bring her into more regular close contact with the girls in order to help both parties adjust to the other. However, he had never expected her to be such a wonderful blossoming apprentice by absorbing the lessons so readily on top of all of that. Eirlathion felt truly fortunate to have found her.
 
“Indeed. This is the reason why a mage needs to build up spirit energy well in excess of what a normal elf requires to survive. The body of your spirit is comprised of spirit energy. However, in order to use magic, you must gather extra and crystallize it in the center of your spirit. Then, you use this captured and crystallized spirit energy to tell your mana what to do. This is the essence of what a spell is.” Eirlathion informed her. “Now then, next I will teach you how to accumulate and crystallize the spirit energy. Fortunately, this house happens to have the very best conditions for gathering spiritual energy, those children produce plenty of it.”
 
“What I will be teaching you is the path of sorcery. There are two primary paths toward magecraft. The path of sorcery is a path only open to those with some form of natural magical energy, and it focuses on unlocking and awakening that natural energy to the fullest extent. The green word is only the weakest of the spells available to the fey. If you progress along the path of sorcery, you will be able to unlock greater powers, some of which are magics normally only available to the faeries.”
 
“The faeries!?” His apprentice responded with a stunned expression, causing a smile to raise to his lips. Yes, it would be natural for an elf to be quite stunned to even consider the ability to use the same magic as the faeries, the most powerful race among the fey.
 
“Yes, the faeries.” He replied. “Faeries are quite fortunate among the fey. An elf who has not trained at all with magic can only manage an extremely simplified version of the green word that communicates with nature spirits. It can’t even influence plants that are not inhabited by a spirit. However, faeries are born a lot further along the same path and able to naturally use magic that an elf cannot achieve until at least unlocking the third tier of their spells.” After saying this, he gave Túeth a very meaningful look. “I am actually tempted to wonder whether or not you might be able to use some of their level of magic right now after the changes you went through from the Heaven’s Fall. However, it is likely best to focus on the proven method for now.”
 
“The path of sorcery is a method to awaken the hidden magic in your spirit by imitating the humans’ path of wizardry. What the humans do in their path of wizardry is that they crystallize their spirit energy by containing it within their own spirit and then condensing it. Before doing this however, they will have closely studied a spell they wish to perform, learning everything they can about how it works and the principles behind it. While they are forming their spell vessel, the name they use for this crystallized spirit energy, they also imprint the crystallized spirit energy with all the thoughts regarding the spell they just researched. Then, finally, they absorb mana produced by a member of one of our fey races and fill that spell vessel.”
 
“It is a very crude method that they use, but it allows them to imitate the magic of races far superior in natural magic to them. However, it is not without its drawbacks. The mana will not be compatible with their spirit, and this will cause the spell vessel they had worked so hard to generate to be damaged. This results in a backlash across their spirit channel that actually causes them to loose the very spell they practiced from their minds.”
 
“Oh wow!” Túeth responded. “That’s kinda crazy, but... why are we talking so much about the human’s method master?”
 
“This is your second lesson Túeth. There is no such thing as unnecessary knowledge. Elves live long lives as is, and as a mage your life will become even longer. You should know the benefits and limitations of the humans’ methods so you know what to expect if you should ever encounter them. It is also important to understand the origins of sorcery so that you have a better idea of what you are going to be doing.”
 
“Now then, I will go over the differences between the humans’ Wizardry and the Sorcery that I will now be teaching you. Just like Wizardry, a Sorcerer will crystallize spirit energy in order to form a vessel for their spells. This spell vessel will also be set with a spell. However, you do not have to know what spell you are imprinting on your spell vessel as you are forming it. Unlike a wizard, a sorcerer must take a much longer time in carefully forming their spell vessel. Wizards, due to the fact that their spell vessels always break when they use them, often do not bother with crafting them at very high quality. Some even have discovered that they can avoid having their backlash being so severe by making very weak spell vessels that will shatter completely upon the spell being used. It requires them to take more time in re-forming the spell vessel, but it is a way they have discovered so they do not have the knowledge of the spell completely wiped from their minds requiring them to consult their spell book again afterward.”
 
“Sorcerers do not face the same problem that wizards have. And, along with our long lifespans, we can take the extra time to carefully craft a spell vessel that will flawlessly reproduce our spells again and again. Also, it really does serve you well to take the extra time to do it right. A perfectly crafted spell vessel will be able to naturally fill with your mana at a rapid rate, allowing you to repeatedly cast the same spell using the same spell vessel again and again. This is something a human wizard is completely incapable of.”
 
“A sorcerer’s strongest spells will be those that conform to our bloodline. You will find spells that fit with the green word and faerie magic to be a lot easier to form. The most important thing though is to only supply them with your own mana. If you use any other mana, it will cause your spell vessel to be damaged just as it would be for a human wizard.”
 
“Well then, let’s get to it. I will help you to begin the process of crystallizing spirit energy. Once again, it is best to do it here where the spirit energy is the most dense of anywhere else in the village. This area is close enough to where the Heaven’s Fall occurred that the spirit energy in this area is raised somewhat from the rest of the forrest, but it is still far higher in this house near those boys.”
 
 
Aerien: Warrior god combat meditation.
(After things had settled down from the “call to arms.”)
 
‘I have been meaning to ask,’ Gaerien said to me later in the day, ‘I am going to be helping you to figure out your path, so I should probably start by asking you a few things about this fighting style of yours and what you know about your meditation.’
 
‘Ok, I guess that makes sense.’
 
‘Well, to start with, what is it called?’
 
‘It’s a bit of a crazy name. It is called Bujin Taijutsu. I am not certain if you know Japanese, but to translate that name into English, Taijutsu means a style focused on body movement, of always having your body in the optimum place and position to disrupt your opponent, exploit their blind spots and weak points, and gain leverage on their joints in the case of using a Jujutsu, which means a joint manipulation technique. As for Bujin, that term literally translates to warrior god. So, the name of the style, if I were to translate it to English, would best be translated as combat movements of the warrior god.’
 
‘Hah, just as I thought.’Gaerien responded. ‘That’s exactly the sort of name a high level meditation would have. You said it was a crazy name, but actually that’s perfectly normal among the top tier meditations. Combat movements of the warrior god though? So, it may really not be all that cut out for magecraft. With a name like that, it would probably be a physical cultivation technique. But, the only reason it would even have a method to pierce the world barrier would be if it was meant to be used in spellcasting. This is pretty confusing.’
 
‘Well, it’s possible the whole thing is a deception. The style actually has quite the history behind it. Maybe your confusion will be cleared up if you hear it.’
 
‘Ok, I’m sure it will be.’
 
‘Well, as I said, it came from Japan. Japan is a rather large Island back on Earth, but it is still an Island. What’s more, it was a harsh land with very poor resources available to it. As a result of this, the people of Japan became a very war like people. Warlords were a rather regular thing for them up until the United States where I lived defeated them completely in war a little over half a century ago and forced them to fully disarm due to how little the rest of the world could trust them in their war-like ways.’
 
‘Anyway,’I continue ‘before they were forced to disarm, life consisted of the warlords tearing up the country on a regular basis. There were some people in this time who, in order to survive, went to hide in the forests in order to avoid the wrath of the warlords. However, they also had to defend themselves, so they created their own fighting force that used secrecy, guerilla warfare, and indirect methods to win battles and protect themselves. Eventually, some of the warlords took note of these people and began incorporating them into their own forces.’
 
‘As I said before, the very name “combat movements of the warrior god” could be a deception. The people I am speaking about were masters of information warfare, and it was them who developed the fighting style that I used. The fighting style emphasizes adaptability above all else, and it incorporated the fighting technique of the Samuri, the top warriors of the warlords. The number one principle of the style, being developed by peasant villagers who were hiding just to survive and perfected a powerful warrior art as a result, is to use everything you can in order to survive.’
 
‘Wow! With a history like that behind your meditation, I guess I can understand now why you were so upset about not being able to sense threats in advance. But, you say it emphasizes adaptability. In that case, this ought to work out well. If it adapts to and incorporates anything it comes across that’s useful, then there HAS to be something you can do to fix the problem with sensing enemies without dumping out the meditation. There ought to be some kind of potential for a fix already baked right into it.’
 
‘Now then, something else I would like you to explain to me. Normally, these kinds of meditations of such a high level are divided into tiers, and each tier could have several sub levels to it as well. Are you aware of anything like that?’
 
‘Hmm... well, now that you mention it, there are a number of levels. There are... if I were to count all the sub levels, I guess you could say there are 45. However, most of that is repeating through a cycle over and over again. It is a cycle through the four elements, and then a fifth element of the void. Those five elements are repeated for each of three influences, as we call them. Everything about this style is described in terms of what you influence. First, at the most basic level, is the influence of heaven. Yes, we start with heaven as our first one and consider that to be the most basic. Next, is the manipulation of Earth. Finally, at the most advanced level, is the manipulation of man.’
 
‘Well... exactly the opposite of how most would arrange it. I had thought that your style seemed fairly unorthodox from what I had heard up until this point, if you reverse the order of man, earth, and heaven then there definitely has to be something very different about your methods.’
 
‘Oh, we very much pride ourselves on being unorthodox and unintuitive in our approach to just about everything. It is specifically because we use such unconventional methods that we are able to circumvent the usual defensive tactics most people take. When the forebearers of this style were incorporated into the imperial armies, they mostly acted as secret body guards and information warfare specialists, never appearing on the front lines, and yet they were among the most effective members of the military that were the difference between winning and loosing the war.’
 
‘So, you said you cycle through the same process again for each level. I take it then that you go through those five elements for each of the three influences you just mentioned. That only totals up to 15 levels though. I take it there is another greater cycle of three more that increases the count to 45?’
 
‘Yes. They are called the focuses. The first, and lowest focus is called the focus of Taijutsu. Again, this means body movement technique. The second is the focus of Ninjutsu, human manipulation technique. Finally, the top level is Bushin. The focus of the true warrior god.’
 
‘Well, after hearing this, there is no doubt at all that this is a very very high tier meditation. It’s really too bad it’s incomplete and you have to rediscover its true secrets and reform it on your own. Anyway, one more thing I want to confirm. You keep bringing up this movement thing, Taijutsu as you call it. I remember you saying once that movement is important in your meditation.’
 
‘Yes, there is a still meditation portion, but that is not going to help you at all. The meditation of the Bujin Taijutsu school is a form of moving meditation. Really, the still portion is only practiced to teach beginners what they should be focusing on and contemplating while they are in training.’
 
‘Hmm... by any chance, is there anything about it advancing faster for people who have been in real battles?’
 
‘Well, yes.’
 
‘I see. Well, this really is quite the meditation. I can see where the warrior god part of it comes from. The cultivation method in your meditation improves while you are moving, is better while in combat training, and is at its best while on the battlefield. You grow stronger while you fight. Once again, this is a cultivation method most cultivators would literally kill for. I simply cannot tell you how envious a method this is.’
 
 
Gaerien: Divine presence cultivation technique (modified)
 
‘So, you prodded me all about my cultivation method, how about you tell me a thing or two about yours?’
 
‘Oh, you’re curious? I thought you didn’t have any interest in this godhood stuff.’
 
‘You keep telling me that my method is so incredible people would kill for it. However, you have not actually asked me to teach it to you once. That got me curious. There has got to be something in your method that’s also pretty powerful if you have shown no interest in my method other than what you need to know in order to help me.’
 
‘Hehe, well, yes. Supposedly it’s the best cultivation method there is, at least the best that I’m aware of. It’s the same method that the one you worship as your personal god used to become so powerful.’
 
‘WHAT!?’
 
‘Well, actually! I should probably correct myself on that. It’s a modified version. Normally, only pure deified souls can use it. It’s a high level meditation meant to be used by those who are already very very high level. So, I had to try and invent a lower level to it that can be used by mortals myself. It’s not actually his method, it’s my method to try and create the conditions that allow someone to just begin on his method.’
 
‘Ok, but still… you’re saying you actually know his method?’
 
‘Well, yeah. He spread it around pretty freely. You’ve heard of angels, right? That’s what deities who use this cultivation method are called when they are on the lowest stage of it, and the strongest angels are able to match the strongest regular gods who use other meditations. However, even though it’s a very powerful method, it actually has a flaw to it. It’s designed for an entity with a multi-part composite soul.’
 
‘Wow, this is a lot to take in. So, angels are actually lesser gods? But, wait… multi-part composite soul?’
 
‘Yes.’ Gaerien said, almost with an air of disgust in her mental voice. ‘If you don’t have at least a split 2 part soul, you will not be able to make it past the 9th choir, the choir of the Seraphim. A Seraph still has amazing power, I was quite content to just reach that level and call things good. However, you go and step into my inner world with a 2 part soul and demonstrate to me that, yet again, my methods were wrong from the start and I ought to have been following your example since the beginning, and it’s already WAY too late for me to use the same method you used! I am SERIOUSLY cursing my selfconsciousness from early on right now. You have absolutely no idea how much I’m lamenting that loss. Then again, I don’t think I actually know anything about how to progress after the Seraphim choir anyway. So, I would just be blindly making it up as I went along after progressing past that point very much like you and your attempts to re-form the warrior god technique you’ve got.’
 
‘I’ve got one more thing to ask about. You said something about the pre-condition being that you had to be a pure deified soul. Is there something special about that that’s different from other kinds of souls?’
 
‘Oh, yes there is! Pretty much, you have to be someone who reached the level just shy of the godhood transformation without cultivating for a single day in your life. In addition, you have to go through several layers of additional purification all throughout your life in order to get the natural impurities that come from the world and affect your soul.’
 
‘Wait… reaching the level near godhood without cultivating?’ After hearing that, my mind naturally went to the state of our mother, who apparently had her spirit enhanced like it would have been through cultivation just by being near some exceptionally dense spirit energy.
 
‘Yes, I think you’re probably figuring it out. That’s another part of the reason all the spirit energy was contained inside of Earth’s barrier. When it is dense enough, it will forcibly re-form a person’s spirit and prepare it for a godhood transformation even if they do nothing to cultivate. Because of this, when a person on Earth died, they had the opportunity to possibly transforming into a god immediately instead of reincarnating as someone on any other world would. And then, if it was someone who had diligently gone through the proper purification methods through their life, they would be invited to his kingdom in order to cultivate on the angel’s path.’
 
‘Hold on, hold on, you just said your soul has to be prepared without cultivating! You said you are using a cultivation method in order to prepare your soul for the angel’s path though.’
 
‘Yes, this is what makes the method I’m using so hard. You saw all the impurities that had developed already inside my spirit. I’m going to have to cleanse those off rather regularly. Also, I’m doing nothing in my cultivation to reinforce my spirit. Instead, I’m just gathering the mana and spirit energy and trying to let it infuse into my spirit naturally. Fortunately, this body seems to be one that can last a very long time. It ought to be capable of lasting the time that’s needed for such a long process. There is absolutely no way I could have ever attempted this if I was born a human.’
 

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