Snow took a peek towards the river bank.

As to be expected he was still there, leaning against a tree, standing with his back to him, arms crossed over his chest.

It was the third time he stole a glance his way, only to realize that he hadn’t moved an inch since he’d brought him there. Or had he? Even though he knew how improbable it was, Snow still couldn’t shake the feeling that, the minute he looked away, he would actually be watching him.

Taking a deep breath, he bent his knees and disappeared beneath the cold surface of the water.

It was bath day, everyone had quickly decided the moment MenTar¹Literally men (lake) + tar (wind) had come back with news that he’d found a small creek just deep enough, its waters relatively calm, perfect for a good swim.

Of course everyone had practically dropped everything they were doing, eager to jump into the fresh water and wash away days and days of accumulated sweat and road dust. Well, not everybody, Snow had quickly concluded looking around the almost deserted camp.

Snow, of course, had not followed them, even though MenTar had insisted in inviting him, until ZenTar²Literally zen (silent) + tar (wind) had lost his patience and had simply dragged him away.

VinWei³Literally vin (hard) + wei (crystal) had also stayed behind, for obvious reasons, claiming she would take her time taking her bath later, when she could have the creek all for herself.

And ZaiWin⁴Literally zai (blade) + win (chaos). hadn’t even moved, standing by the horses, as if he hadn’t even heard the amazing news MenTar had brought. As expected, no one had dared invite him, much less question the reason why he wouldn’t join them, Snow had noticed. Not even ZenTar, who had showed, on more than one occasion, that he was actually brave enough to scold him as if he were no more than an undisciplined child.

That was hardly the first time either, Snow considered, returning to the surface to take deep breath. In fact, now that he thought about it, he had never seen ZaiWin get undressed or even change his clothes, even though he obviously did so like everyone else. Snow had been warned time and time again that he mustn’t show is back in front of other people, and he now understood why. So maybe he too, had something he couldn’t show anyone else, he wondered, stealing another peek his way. Maybe a hideous scar? Or some horrible defect?

Sighing, Snow combed his wet hair back, smiling when he felt the longer strands slide between his fingers. He always felt happy at the thought that he now had hair like any normal person. If nothing else, he was truly grateful that ZaiWin had allowed him to grow it this long, when everyone else had always made a point to keep it as short as possible, even to the point of shaving his head just to make sure others wouldn’t notice his unusual hair color.

Taking another glance at his silent watch-guard, Snow stepped out of the water, shivering a bit. The water was cold and the air outside wasn’t any warmer, especially since the sun had already started its decline, spreading cold, dark shadows everywhere. But ZaiWin had insisted they waited until everyone had returned to camp, busying themselves with their tasks, before he finally led him out there. Snow wondered when he’d have his turn bathing …

Quickly putting his clothes back on, Snow made his way to where he stood, his hair still dripping, the cold droplets of water rolling down his neck.

“I’m ready,” he announced in a whisper, since ZaiWin would probably ignore his presence until he actually spoke, and those cold blue eyes moved to look down at him.

For a moment he just stood there, staring at him, to the point that Snow couldn’t help feeling awkward. His face was as indifferent and as cold as always, and no matter how much he tried, he just couldn’t even begin to guess what was going through his head.

“Let’s go,” ZaiWin finally said, pushing himself away from the tree, and Snow almost sighed in relief, rushing to follow him.

This was his enemy, Snow thought looking up at the tall man walking in front of him. And yet he still didn’t have a clue about what to do to overthrow him. He’d been diligently and attentively studying him for the last two weeks, but he still hadn’t been able to learn one single thing that might grant him an advantage when the time came.

Sure, Snow could easily spend an entire day without uttering a single word. But ZaiWin was hardly the the talkative type either. He never engaged in useless talk, much less discussed private matters in public. It was obvious that he felt completely at ease around ZenTar but, even with him, he mostly discussed the decisions they had to make regarding their day-to-day life, or their future travel plans. He also seemed to sustain a relatively good relationship with VinWei, always patiently replying her questions or hearing her opinions, but he rarely was the first one to start a conversation. As for the rest of the group, he basically ordered them around. Even MenTar. Telling them what to do or, when nothing was needed, telling them nothing at all. His face rarely showed any other expressions besides his usual cold stare and angry frown. All in all there wasn’t much Snow could hold on to that would allow him to gather any useful conclusions.

A large hand landed on his head and turned it away from his focus of attention, towards the way ahead.

“Stop staring, freaking brat! You’ll stumble and fall.”

Snow frowned.

As if he would stumble! Who did he think he was? Some toddling child learning to walk? He hadn’t even glanced his way and he was already telling him what to do! So what if he wanted to stare? He would stare as much as it pleased him! Even more so since he seemed to mind it!

Just to make a point, Snow turned and looked up at him again. And again that hand landed on his head, making him look away.

This time there were no words. Only a deep sigh.

Snow clenched his teeth. No matter what, he would watch him as closely as possible until he found his weakness!

ZaiWin made his way to a small clearing he had noticed on his way to the creek.

That freaking brat! He was getting bolder by the day!, openly defying him without a care. He really should confiscate that damn bracelet! And his hair was dripping wet!, completely glued to his head. VinWei had told him that normally Celestials didn’t get sick the same way normal people did, but he still couldn’t help worry, which greatly sucked! Never mind! He would not think about that anymore, he decided, almost chastising himself. He had more important things to focus his attention on.

Reaching the clearing, he stepped forward and tapped the ground with his foot, creating a new array of concealment.

It was the fourteenth time Snow saw that dark dome expand and close over his head, and he still couldn’t help stare at it in utter amazement. In fact, the more he understood about what it meant to control one’s daitai⁵Literally dai (light) + tai (mark), or Holy Markings, considered Heavenly Blessings. They’re the source of power. the more amazing it looked. And he eagerly wondered when he’d be able to do something like that as well.

The way he saw them, daitai were like deep wells of energy, each one with its own nature. They were fed by his own energy, that constantly circulated inside his body. And they had been given to him so he could care for and use them when needed.

The caring part meant keeping them clean, not allowing other energies to pollute them, to change their nature, which was easy enough. At least for the ones he’d practiced so far.

The using part was a bit more tricky. It implied diving his conscious into a certain well, grab a handful of that energy and bring it to the surface. Then he had to carefully mold it, giving it purpose, meaning and shape using mind imaging. That was the hard part. And finally he had to try and guide that energy towards a specific target, which he had learned how to do just a few days ago.

Not needing to be told what to do, Snow sat on the ground and waited for ZaiWin to hand him his daily exercise.

Unwrapping a piece of cloth, ZaiWin placed a few small items in front of him. Two seeds, two dried leaves, two dying tree brunches. It wasn’t the first time he was given this exercise and, closing his eyes, Snow focused on the two seeds.

These was the easiest part of the exercise, he thought, instinctively diving into the daitai related with speed and growth. He could see the green sprouts dancing in the wind at the sound of a gentle melody. And then he chose one of the two seeds, and directed the song in his head towards it.

Next he focused on the leaves. They were practically dead, but not quite yet. He could feel the small slivers of energy still circling inside their drying veins. He dove into his life daitai and allowed its glorious song to fill his mind. This was the most beautiful of the daitai he’d work with so far. He could always see endless green fields, high mountains, deep seas. And the melody always filled his heart with emotion, an emotion so strong and vast that it was hard to name. Choosing one of the two leaves, he offered it that amazing song.

Lastly he turned his inner vision towards the branches. They were sick, he immediately knew. This was a bit harder. It was the fourth time he tried to heal something, and every time was completely different from the previous one. It wasn’t enough to simply dive into his healing daitai. If he didn’t give it the right shape then it wouldn’t work. Sometimes he had to use his cleansing daitai as well. The song of both daitai was really gentle and soothing, which was good, allowing him the peace of mind he needed to mold the energy to his target’s needs. Once he thought he had it, he chose one of the branches and released that soothing song over it.

Taking a deep breath, he finally opened his eyes, eager to see how he’d done.

One of the seeds had successfully sprouted, and one to the leaves was green again. But the branches were both healthy, small flower buds about to bloom here and there. He had healed them both, but he had failed the exercise. He hadn’t been able to direct the healing effect to one target alone, he concluded with a disappointed expression of his face.

“Well, it’s only been four days,” ZaiWin declared as if his lack of success was to be expected. Still, even though those were far from being comforting words, Snow couldn’t help feeling a bit better. ZaiWin never really praised him, but he also didn’t blame him or scolded him when he failed one of his tasks. He just patiently gave him another chance to try it again.

“Okay. Since we’ll be arriving at Last Tree tomorrow afternoon, today will be our last training session for a while. So we’re going to try the opposite. Instead of focusing on one single target, lets try to expand the effect to an entire area. We call that an array. Like the one I use to form this dome,” he gestured all around them and Snow couldn’t help feeling apprehensive.

An array, like the one he had used to kill all those people …

“You've practically done it already, the first time we tried this, remember? When you made all those flowers bloom and all those seed sprout. But your array just kept growing, it had no direction and no specific intention. So lets see …”

He picked up one of the blooming branches and, taking a couple of steps back, drew a wide circle on the ground around them.

“You may choose what, just make it happen inside this area and inside this area alone.”

Snow stood up to take a better look at the area he’d been granted.

“Can I be inside it …?”

“For now, yes. Just make sure not to cross the boundary.”

Snow stepped inside the circle, giving it a good look to get a better feeling of the area. Taking a deep breath, he relaxed his mind.

He’d make all the small plants around him grow, he thought, make the flowers bloom if there were any. That should be enough. He’s main focus would be the target, that was no longer one single object but an entire area, a limited area. Raising the necessary energy and finding the right song was easy enough. Directing it, however …

ZaiWin’s dome always begun as a circle, so he started by envisioning one as well. A golden song in the shape of a circle. A circle that surrounded him and then expanded around him, just like ZaiWin’s dome. But wait! He couldn’t simply expand it. ZaiWin had clearly told him that he couldn’t cross the boundary.

Opening his eyes to check it, he couldn’t help stare in amazement at the golden ring of strange symbols surrounding him. It was exactly like he had imagined it. That it could be this visible …

Focus! He had to focus! There was time to feel amazed afterwords. Where was the border? The grass and clovers around his feet were already growing.

A sharp pain pierced his chest, shattering his golden circle, shattering his concentration. For a moment he couldn’t even breathe, his mind confused with the backlash he’d received.

“What are you waiting for, stupid brat! Try again.”

That harsh voice somehow grounded him, and he turned around to look up at him.

“They … heard me …”

“What?”

“They heard me!” Snow repeated, increasingly sure of himself. And ZaiWin frowned, unable to understand the reason behind his alarmed expression.

Silvareiel

So, starting next week my schedules are going to be insane. One of my working places decided to close because of the covid epidemic. The other one wants us pulling extra shifts, don't know until when. I believe the city will soon be completely shut down. I still don't know if this means more free time or less ? One thing is certain, it will mean a cut on my salary ? I just hope I won't get sick as well. Hope you're guys are doing okay wherever you are! ?