Board Thread:Roleplay/@comment-25808351-20191120203148/@comment-27666783-20191202002242

A fire kindled to life in the hearth in the guest room. The two guests had huddled before it and took the chance to fight away the cold, and ever so slighly, relinguish their guard. Chenguang sat in meditation, legs crossed and paws crasping at her knees. She open her eyes toward the bright warm flame, and at Bertram's machinations with cleaning and reloading his matchlock device. She remembered how loud its report bellowed in the stable, yet how quickly it was defeated by the magics of that fox. Certainly a military officer as her was no stranger to these weapons, especially among the Mists, but alas her doubts came to fruition. "You need a better way to defend yourself."

Bertram gave a casual snort, grimacing. "And I need the body of Beorthric and the skill of Saint Merse Dascaros. Tell me something I don't know." Dismissive sarcasm painted his words.

Chenguang persisted, "I am serious. You cannot expect me to be there to assist you forever, you cannot expect me to be immune to failure. Who will protect you then?"

Looking annoyed, the Apprentice put down a dirty filth ridden swab of cloth that was busy being run through the barrel. "What I have currently is not much but I have to make do, predators tend to not exactly play fair."

Chenguang's eyes turned to look into the fire once again. "Man is a predator too. A dangerous one."

"Please arrive at the point, Chen."

"You speak of this 'Core' device as that it unleashes the potential of your kind, the 'unfettering' without having to spend decades of precious time having to break through the Gods' cruel limiter. That they may emerge ready to train as their ancestors intended it, regardless of their willpower or prior talent."

"The Core, supposedly, rebounds spiritual energy from and toward the subject inside it exponentially. In theory, upon entering the Core this would emulate the process that Heros go through at a much smaller timespan and without having to train at the Churchyards your entire childhood absorbing residual energies, or at the other end of the spectrum, sex through incubization. That is, of course, it works and doesn't explode killing everything in a square mile radius. Which is a possible outcome if the engineers screw it up." The Core. A massive chamber that harnesses the very biology of spirit energy producers and 'revolutionizes' them to greater capacities as before the Gods chained mankind to the old system. The combination of the sciences and intelligent design. The more Chenguang would hear about it from Bertram the more bewildering it sounded.

"Do you fear what happens if you step inside?"

The question seemed to elucidate the conversation, Bertram sighed and leaned back on the couch they'd pulled in front of the fireplace. "Apart from the explosion killing everything in a square mile radius, my place isn't on the battlefield, my place-"

"The battlefield is everyone's place, Bertram." Chenguang interrupted, "Trying to avoid the potential of conflict is how you invite being attacked."

"I suppose you'd be training me then?" A long pause erupted between the two, Bertram furrowed his brow. "I was kidding."

"Why?" The Jinko implored.

"Because I don't have claws, I don't have four hundred pounds of muscle, and I haven't conducted drills since I was an Initiate."

"You don't need claws, you have hands. You can achieve physiques beyond your own comprehension, and I can teach you to where you don't need a weapon." It earned a chuckle from her Brother, at least he was listening. He turns to look at her, but quickly avert his eyes. Just like before in the stable.

Finally Chenguang couldn't help but question it. "What is wrong?"

Bertram was silent, pursing his lips. "Does that meditation really help?"

Again with that question. What perterbed him so about her practices? Surely he'd understand it was akin to praying.

Praying…

It clicked. Suddenly it began to come together for her. A constant reminder of the unspoken truth about his very Goddess. Perhaps it was better to have your gods never exist then to realize that they thought of you as nothing but cattle for the slaughter. What a revelation is must have been for him, how lonely did he feel? "Would you like to know? Come and sit."

Chenguang closed her eyes, the air was only disturbed by the quiet crackling of the fire for only a few moments. And at last movement, a presence coming to sit adjacent to her. "Ok now what?"

"Just sit, match my breathing with yours."