FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

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CHAPTER 10

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My first morning in the Masrur village, which I later discovered to be called Ormai'tan, which translates to 'Hope Witnessed' from old tongue, was a busy one. We rose at day break and headed not for the training grounds, but the village square, where many signs of last nights activities were still plain to see.

The burnt out pile of ashes, which had been a massive bonfire. The benches where the elders had sat were still sitting where they were last night. Only the elders had benches provided for them to sit on, everyone else sat on the ground, provided their own seats or simply stood or squatted in place. There were a few passed out Masrur, laying prone from their over indulgence last night.

"You're late!" Jan'Zar growled aloud, but there was no one else around. Or so I thought.

A shadow suddenly descended from above us, a figure landing a few yards away, their massive feathered wings outstretched behind them. The figure knelt before her, bowed their head and with a flutter of their wings folded them neatly behind them.

"Please forgive my tardiness my Lady." They said with a deep bass voice, which held a level of dignity that I had only ever heard from a pompous, self important fur before. But some how, he didn't sound self important and pompous, not with how easily he bent a knee to beg for forgiveness like that.

"Stand up!" She growled.

"Thank you my Lady." The feathered figure said, rising from his kneeling position.

As he stood I could finally get a good look at him. He was an avian of some sort, one which I had never seen or heard of. His head feathers were a brilliant white, almost glaringly bright as the early morning sun shone upon them, but they faded to a light grey around his neck. He wore a light green tunic which fit his form comfortably. He was well built, strong and slightly taller than myself; but not by much.

He had a bright yellow beak and piercing, sky blue, slitted eyes; which almost seemed to glow. His eyes flickered to me and then back to Jan'Zar in an instant. His gaze felt so sharp, I felt like he had taken in my entire being in that one instant.

"Malakye, this is Jun'lao." She said. "He will be your instructor on martial arts and wind bending." She turned to look at me with a stern threatening gaze. "You will obey every his every command as if it were my own!"

"O-of course..." I uttered, a little shocked and offended that she thought I would not follow the commands of my instructor. I had never given her any reason to doubt me in that respect.

"It is a pleasure to meet you Malakye." He bowed his head to me and pressed his right fist to his chest in a sign of respect. An act I had not expected, but was eager to return in kind.

"The pleasure is mine." I said, mimicking his actions.

"So when do we start?" He asked.

"Now!" Jan'Zar grunted. "Since you are the first to arrive you shall be the first to train him. You will train him for the next three days, however he must return each night to me."

"I shall return him back to you by sundown without fail good Lady!" He smiled. Birds tended to smile more with their eyes than normal furs, as their beaks were not good at conveying many emotions by themselves. It reminded me of Eric when he did that. "I am glad to hear that I was not last to arrive."

Jan'Zar just grunted at him, almost as if she was dismissing his comment.

"So then Malakye." He turned to look at me once again, his sharp gaze met my own and held it with such ease, I couldn't look away unless he would allow me to do so. "Have eaten breakfast yet?"

"Uh... no... sir." I fumbled with the words, only just remembering to add the honorific.

"You need not call me 'sir'." He said. "You may refer to me as Jun'lao, or Master Jun'lao if you prefer. I am hear to instruct you, not be your superior."

"Although... you are..." I said hesitantly. Some how I felt I could speak freely around him. His easy presence was a startling contrast in comparison to the Deity of War. "Master."

"I suppose I am. But so long as you are able to follow my instructions, and learn the knowledge I offer you freely, I see no need to act as such, unless you believe you may benefit from such a relationship more than the one I offer?"

"It is what I am used to Master." I said with a slight bow of my head. "But I am willing to try new things if you think it will make things easier."

"Then we shall see how it plays out," He acknowledged. "Thank you for being honest with me."

"Urgh..." Jan'Zar groaned, almost as if she felt queasy. "I'm leaving him in your paws! Try not to break him!"

"Of course not your Ladyship." He bowed to her as she walked away. She waved a dismissive paw back at him. "Now then student-of-mine, lets get some breakfast!"

************

After breakfast, which we ate with the other Masrur warriors. A sizeable portion of a type of oatmeal. The warriors ate together each morning apparently, the village ensuring their protectors were well fed. Many of the warriors were visibly suffering from hangovers, and everyone was eyeing the avian sitting next to me with caution... no not caution. It wasn't fear, it was just how they looked at Jan'Zar, only with not as much reverence. As Jun'lao led me out of the village, and we were out of earshot of the other Masrur, I worked up the nerve to ask him.

"Why... why are the Masrur so nervous around you?"

"Oh... I suppose they don't want to offend me. They may not worship me directly, but they do worship my Master." He smiled.

"Worship you? Wait... does that mean you're a deity?!"

"Not at all!" He chuckled. "I am what is known as a Champion. Much as the Masrur you know as Garr, who serves her Ladyship, Jan'Zar. I serve his Lordship Hesh'na as his Champion."

Hesh'na, the Guardian Deity of the Sky, Master of Storms. Third born son of Asurmen. And Jun'lao was his champion; meaning he was Garr's equal!? At least in rank... but I had yet to see anything beyond the calm, cheerful demeanour. If he was truly an equal to Garr in combat, not just rank, then I was going to be in a world of hurt!

"So..." I chuckled nervously. "What are we going to do first?"

"Today I will gauge your skill level, and test the full extent of your abilities. Tomorrow we shall begin your training in earnest."

"Great..." Translation: I was going to get my tail kicked, over and over again, until he was satisfied.

He led me to a grove of trees, a few miles away from the village, which formed a near perfect circle around a decently sized area. There was an outcrop of rocks to one side, but there was still plenty of room to move around. There was nothing of particular note, that I could tell made this place special in any way. I wondered why he had picked this place.

"Are you ready Malakye?"

I steeled myself.

"Yes Master!"

"Very good." He adopted a fighting stance. "Then you shall make the first move."

I adopted my own fighting stance. Standing opposite Jun'lao like this reminded me of when Aceh had first started to train me. How he taught me the stances of Tigers Palm. Taught me the fundamentals by beating me soundly each time I made a mistake. Since I was to be taking the offensive, I assumed the sixth stance, intending to switch to the second stance the moment he took the offensive.

Jun'lao stood perfectly still, ready to react to what ever I do. I took a couple of moments to study him. His form radiated confidence, strength and power. I made the mistake of meeting his gaze. That powerful, piercing gaze that bore into me, freezing me in place.

"Come now Malakye!"

His commanding tone snapped me into action, breaking the spell his eyes held over me. I reached him in three strides, immediately lashing out with a series of fast jabs. He weaved round my blows with ease, and as he side stepped to my left I spun round, extended my fist to try and cut him off as he attempted to get behind me. He raised his arm and blocked my attack with his forearm, and I then kicked out with my left leg to strike his knee, but he leapt back before my attack could connect.

"Not bad!" He grinned. "But I'm sure you can do better than that!"

His tone was not mocking, but encouraging. It spurred me on. I chased after him, this time opening with a leaping kick. He stepped back and blocked my kick with his palm, blocking it with ease, but I was not deterred; the moment my foot-paws touched the ground I lashed out with a fast series of punches, which he effortlessly dodged or blocked. I followed up my assault with a low sweeping kick as I switched into the fourth stance.

I reached out and tried to grab his wrist, but the moment my paw brushed his feathers his arm retracted out of my reach and I was punished with an eye watering jab to my snout. His jab held some serious force behind it, and as I suffered its effects he grappled me and in an instant I struck the ground on the flat of my back.

Jun'lao stood over me, his paws either side of my head, and stared at me with an expression of expectation. I snarled and brought my leg up to kick him. He batted my foot-paw away and leapt back. I got up quickly and readied myself. He was good, but he was playing defence, making me do the work. I needed to draw him out to attack. I could weather a few blows if I needed to. I knew that he was far superior to me when it came to martial arts, I knew that already. He was toying with me. But my pride demanded that I land at least one good blow on him!

I assumed the first stance of Tigers Palm, a defensive stance. Jun'lao seemed to understand my intention, and for the first time took the offensive. He moved so quickly, and with such ease, I was sure he was holding back. But even if he was he was quickly overwhelming me! Not only was he fast, but each blow held considerable force behind it. I did my best to hold him back, but I just couldn't move fast enough. He landed several powerful strikes to my chest and muzzle, before he suddenly spun and struck me in the chest with a rising high kick. I was blown off of my foot-paws and landed on the flat of my back with a heavy thud, the wind being knocked out of me as a result.

As I struggled to catch my breath, wheezing and coughing, Jun'lao squatted down next to me .

"Not bad, you have some skill and promising talent." He smiled. "But your technique is quite easy to read."

"..." I attempted to speak, but instead wheezed as I still hadn't caught my breath.

"I am familiar with your technique. I believe it's called Tigers Paw if memory serves..."

"Pa...lm..." I corrected him with a wheeze. "Palm... Tig-ers Pa-lm."

"Ah yes, Tigers Palm." He nodded. "It is an excellent teaching tool."

"Teach-ing tool?"

"Yes. The six stances are overly simplistic, and have serious flaws and weaknesses. But they teach the user the strengths and benefits of each style, and teach them how to adapt." He stated, but I was already aware of that. But Master Aceh had never taught me the seventh stance. The stance which was supposed to unlock Tigers Palm full potential. "You still haven't learned the truth behind the style yet have you?"

"N...no." I muttered, a little embarrassed. He laughed. "It's not funny!" I huffed at him.

"Sorry." He chortled. "I'll tell you if you want."

"You will?!" I smiled. I was excited. Master Aceh had always told me that I would know when I was ready to know. It felt like cheating by getting Master Jun'lao to tell me, but I felt it was time for me to know. "How do you know it!?"

"I travel to the mortal realm every couple of decades to see what new martial arts have emerged. The variety of styles there are far greater than what you'll find here in Aaru." He explained.

Every couple of decades. The way he said that made it seem like he had done it countless times. But of course since he was like Garr, blessed with immortality, a couple of decades would be nothing to him. It was still mind boggling to contemplate living for centuries upon centuries.

"The secret behind Tigers Palm," He paused to take a breath, but that moment seemed to drag on as my excitement of finding out grew. "Is that there is no seventh stance."

"What!?"

"The seventh stance is what you make of it." He chuckled. "Tigers Palm is designed to create new styles and techniques. Allowing each individual to craft a style to their own strengths! As I said, it is an excellent tool, but it is not truly a style in of itself."

"So there really is no seventh stance?!"

"Indeed there is not. As I said it is a tool, a valuable one at that, which allows the birth of new fighting styles. But you are ready to forge your own technique, and that is something I will happily help you with." He made a noise of approval. "You have excellent instincts. You're not afraid to attack and know when to retreat. Your basic technique is good, each move is perfectly executed. You are also surprisingly adaptive, but you tend to get bogged down within the limitations set by each fighting style. If you had come to realise this on your own, you would have come to understand the truth behind Tigers Palm by yourself."

"..."

"Something wrong?"

"N-no... I just wasn't expecting you to say all that. We only sparred for a couple of minutes, and yet you came to that conclusion of me." The same things that Master Aceh used to say to me, more or less. I guess this was the difference between a student and a master of martial arts.

"Now if you've caught your breath shall we continue?"

"Uh, sure." I nodded.

"This time don't hold back." He said. "I am here to teach you how to use your wind bending as well. Do everything you can to beat me, so I can get a full appraisal of your skills!"

I summoned my nen, it formed a bubble which enveloped both myself and Jun'lao. Jun'lao looked a little impressed as my nen washed over him. He smiled and readied himself to fight, drawing on his own nen which was significant. In terms of strength of our nen I had a fair advantage, but his nen felt far more tempered; like comparing a wooden sword to one made of steel.

This time I readied myself, deciding to forego Tigers Palm now that I knew the truth, and raised my fists in a protective manner either side of my head. I would use the other technique Aceh had taught me; Tigers Fist. We never practised this technique very much, beyond learning the basics.

A wave of realisation washed over me in that moment. The reason he had shown me this technique was to show me the difference between Tigers Palm and a finished technique. Tigers Fist was far more balanced than any of the stances of Tigers Palm, but focused on a far more limited move set. I could use the skills I learned from Tigers Palm to expand upon it, to make it a technique which played to my own preferences and strengths.

I took the initiative, closing the distance between us and threw a several jabs at Jun'lao, focusing a fair portion of my nen into my fists, while keeping my guard up. As expected he easily defended himself, blocking my attacks with his arms. He focused his own nen into his arms to counteract my own.

"Good!" He declared. "Your nen is quite impressive, but your not using it as well as you could!" I redoubled my efforts as I kept attacking. "Good form! You don't have anywhere as many openings as before!"

A second later he struck my arm with surprising force, I had underestimated his nen enhanced strength, and he created an opening where he struck me in the chest with an open palmed strike. The moment he blew my guard open I began to shift my nen around my body, focusing most of it to my torso and the remained to my legs. The actual blow to my chest didn't hurt thanks to my nen to buffer it, but the force sent me sliding backwards of the loose soil I stood upon.

"Well done. You react well!" He praised. "But now I am going to test the true extent of your ability!"

Without a further word I sensed his nen build. I braced myself and a moment later he thrust his right palm towards me, unleashing a powerful gust of wind right at me. His attack felt like getting hit with an actual blunt weapon, not a gust of wind! My forearms were trembling as a result. How did he generate so much force with so little power?

I shook my arms to try and focused more nen into my arms to shake off the effects of that last attack, but that momentary distraction was enough for him to cover the distance between us. His right arm was pulled back to strike, and there was a substantial amount of nen focused into the strike, I leapt to the right, raising my arms to block.

I managed to avoid a direct hit, but he struck a glancing blow on my right arm which hurt like hell! If that had hit me directly I would have been knocked on my tail! Even though I had dodged his last attack, his next one came so quickly I don't know how he did it. He spun round and struck my arms with a reverse spin kick, which caught me in the side of the muzzle, and that did knock me on my tail.

I rolled through the fall into a crouch. I was panting for breath. Jun'lao looked like he wasn't even breaking a sweat yet, and I felt like I had already fought my way through a ten fur gauntlet match! He allowed me to stand and ready myself before resuming his fighting stance.

I didn't expect to win this fight, he was simply too strong, but I was still determined to land one good solid hit before he took me down. I remembered my fights against Garr, the only difference was the fur standing before me. I would not allow myself to give up! I dug down deep and drew on every ounce of nen that I could muster!

"It looks like you're serious. Good." He smirked. "Lets see what you can do!"

The moment he uttered the last word he sprinted towards me. I needed to dodge this! I back stepped and gathered my nen into my wings, and the moment before he reached me I propelled myself upwards into the air just as Xavier had shown me how to do. However I had put too much power into the move, and was now thirty feet in the air! I started to descend quickly, and to slowed myself by extending my wings.

I sensed a flicker of nen from below me. I turned to where Jun'lao had been standing, but I couldn't see him. I looked around, he was no where to be seen. Where had he gone!? The same moment I noticed an odd shadow next to my own, I felt something enter my nen bubble from above me. In that instant I remembered that Jun'lao had suddenly appeared before Jan'Zar and myself from the sky. I barely had time to look up before he barrelled into me!

We were heading towards the ground at a fast pace, I didn't have time to try and stop him from ramming me into the ground! But at the last moment, before I hit the ground I felt his nen surge and we changed direction. We were now skimming along above the ground. He dropped me and I hit the ground rolling.

I came to a stop and was wheezing for air. He had knocked the wind out of me when he'd tackled me. I just lay there, squinting up at the sun, exhausted, as his shadow loomed over me and he gently floated down to earth, landing right next to me.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

I raised a shaky arm, gave him a thumbs up and nodded. I didn't trust myself to speak yet, but at least my wheezing was nearly under control.

"You took me by surprise with that maneuver. I didn't realise you'd learned to use your wind bending to fly."

"I had a Master who taught me wind bending back home." I explained.

He offered me a paw, I grabbed it and he helped pull me up to my foot-paws.

"Well that explains that." He smiled. "You certainly have a lot of potential. That much is obvious. But you have a lot to learn. But I'm confident that you have the capacity to do so."

"What makes you believe that?" I asked. It wasn't the first time some-one had commented on my potential, but I was interested to know what potential they actually saw in me.

"Quite a few things. Putting aside your impressive power as a k'tan, you seem to learn and adapt quickly. Since explaining to you the fundamental weakness of Tigers Palm, you improved your technique significantly." He explained. "Not to mention my last couple of attacks, though I wasn't intending on injuring you, I wasn't holding back. Yet you were able to endure and anticipate my attacks well enough to remain standing. Which tells me you have some talent for fighting, but also an exceptional intuition."

"Thank you." I bowed my head in appreciation.

"Don't thank me Malakye." He said with a smile. "It is my job as your instructor. And I assure you, by the time I'm done with your training you won't be thanking me."

"Heh..." I laughed nervously.

"Now then, shall we continue?"

************

We returned to the village just before sundown. I was exhausted. My foot-paws felt like lead and the rest of my body ached with pain. But it was a good kind of pain. One that only came from a day of intensive training. If it wasn't for the fact that I was extremely hungry I would have headed straight for bed! Although that wasn't an option, I would need to wait for Jan'Zar to be ready to turn in before I could get any rest. But she would likely get me to try and rest through meditation again.

As we approached the center of the village I spotted Jan'Zar by the elders hut, speaking to several Masrur. Standing along with them was a drake, standing head and shoulders above the others; with dark red scales, a long powerful tail and large wings. Jan'Zar was the first to notice us, even though we were still out of earshot. The others followed her gaze. The drake turned to look at me.

He took several steps towards us, Jan'Zar following close behind. Now that he was that much closer I could see that some of his scales were more like pieces of plate armour. The areas around his neck and shoulders, and along the top of his arms, were covered in this natural armour. He had orange eyes, which seemed to smoulder like the embers of a fire.

"Is this the one?" He asked in a gruff voice.

"Yes."

"Hmm..." The drake eyed me up and down, but didn't seem overly impressed. Eventually his gaze moved to Jun'lao next to me. "Long time no see Jun."

"A pleasure as always Wraith."

Wraith? Well it seemed like they knew each other. But I wasn't convinced that their history was all that friendly from that exchange. Jun'lao always seemed to be quite cheerful and polite, but that last greeting seemed to have a sharp edge to it.

"Yeah..." He turned to Jan'Zar. "So you want me to teach him what exactly?"

"He is a fire bender. I want you to teach him how to master his control over fire."

"You brought me out here for that?!" His tone was surprisingly disrespectful to the Deity of War. But she didn't seem offended at all. She seemed entirely indifferent to it. "I've got better things to do with my time than..."

"You will train him." She stated, with a calm, level tone of voice. But there was some considerable authority behind it as well. She looked up at the much taller drake.

"Fine!" He grunted after a considerable pause. "But just so you know, I'm going to make sure to take my frustrations out on him!"

I gulped nervously.

"What ever!" Jan'Zar waved a paw dismissively. "So long as he learns how master his control over fire, and returns each night with all his limbs still attached, you can do what ever the fuck you want!"

The drake looked back at me and smiled. Fuck! I was so screwed!

"I look forward to it!" He smiled.

"Jun'lao is training him for the next two days. You will begin your training with him on the third morning from now."

"Hope you're ready for it!" He said to me. "I'll be back then." He turned and walked away from us. Once I was sure he was out of earshot I turned to Jan'Zar.

"Are you nuts! He's going to kill me!" I blurted out.

"No he won't. He's not dumb enough to kill someone under my protection. He might come close though." She grinned.

"..." I stood there with an open maw, words failed me. I didn't know what else to say, other than curse at her. But I knew that wouldn't be the wisest course of action to take so I said nothing.

"Relax Malakye." Jun'lao placed a reassuring paw on my shoulder. "Wraith is a little rough around the edges..." He glared at him. "Okay, more than a little rough, but he is a powerful and prideful warrior. You will learn a lot from him."

Maybe once he's done beating his frustrations out on me! I thought to myself. Lost in my own thoughts, I sat down with the warrior Masrur and began to eat. It was some form of meat, served with a variety of vegetables, native to this region of Aaru, most of which I had never seen before. But I didn't really pay attention to the food. My worry over my time with Wraith in just a couple of days time, had consumed me.

I was pulled from my thoughts when someone touched my shoulder. It was Coltan and Fras, the two Masrur picked to train with me. While I would be getting trained with Jun'lao and Wraith, Jan'Zar would be training them. If I managed to survive my three days with Wraith I might actually be able to train with them.

"How are you?" Fras asked. I had to keep myself from staring at her bare breasts.

"Okay." I sighed.

"Are you sure?" She asked.

"You look like you're..." Coltan added, taking a moment to find the last word. "...nervous."

These two were meant to be my connection to the rest of the Masrur community. If I couldn't be honest with them, then I would have no-one. I certainly didn't feel like telling Jan'Zar, she would just mock me.

"One of my Masters, Wraith... he makes me nervous." I admitted.

"The big drake, yes?" Fras asked. I nodded. "He certainly looks strong. But so are you!"

"Thanks, but..."

"No buts!" Coltan cut me off. "You are also strong! You beat both of us... too easily." He was obviously still a little bitter about the loss. But at least he wasn't holding it against me. "You will survive! I believe in you!"

"Me too also!" His sister added.

"Thanks guys." I smiled, my spirits lifted by their confidence in me.

But I was still nervous. Wraith radiated power, and I don't think I'd be able to beat him. But I wasn't going to let the worry consume me like I had allowed it to up until now. I had bigger, more fearsome challenges to face than Wraith before my time in Aaru was going to be over. He was just one more challenge for me to overcome!

The meal continued, I finally noticed just how tasty the food was now I wasn't dwelling on my worries. I spoke to Coltan and Fras about our days. I even spoke to some of the other Masrur warriors, thanks to Coltan and Fras providing translations. As the warriors began to head home to their families, or to the lodge where all of the unmated warriors slept, I spotted Jun'lao on his way towards the village entrance. He had been eating with Jan'Zar and the elders.

"Master Jun'lao!" I called out as I chased after him.

"Malakye!" He smiled at me warmly. "You need not call me master when we are not training."

"I know." I smiled back. "But I am seeking your advice."

"Oh?" He perked up, eager to hear my request.

"What can you tell me about Wraith?"

"Are you nervous?" He asked, to which I nodded. "He is a strong and powerful fighter. Unlike myself he is not a Champion of one of the Guardian Deities, although he has been offered such a position in the past."

"He turned it down?" I asked. Jun'lao nodded.

"He doesn't care for titles, eternal life or even for the honour of serving the Guardian Deities. He only seeks to better himself, and find challenges worthy of his time." He explained. "He seeks to prove his strength to no-one but himself. And has garnered quite the reputation for his fighting skills."

"I'm almost wishing I hadn't asked." I admitted, feeling more nervous now.

"Do not falter in your resolve my student. Wraith will test you to your limits. He respects strength."

"Is there anyway I can win?" I asked, barely keeping the desperation out of my voice.

"You have a chance. I believe you will have a slight edge in unarmed combat. You're technique needs some work. Wraith does not use martial arts, but he is still a fearsome opponent. The first thing he will do is fight you to test you're capabilities. Use every skill and advantage you can! It will not be a simple sparring match, and he will come at you with all of his strength right from the start!"

"Can you help me?"

"Of course I will." He beamed. "That is my job. Tomorrow we shall begin your training in earnest."

"Thank you Master." I bowed respectfully to him.

"Now go and get some rest. I shall meet you at the same spot we trained today, an hour after sunrise. Don't be late!"

"I won't be!" I assured him.

He turned and walked away. I watched him until he disappeared from sight. I was curious as to where he would be staying the night, but I needed to focus on myself. I was still exhausted from the day of training. I turned and looked in Jan'Zar's direction. Our gazes met and she seemed to nod at me. She said something to the Masrur she was sitting with and then rose from her seat. Everyone around her rose as well; out of respect for her departure I imagine, since none of them seemed to follow her as she left. I realised that she was heading in the direction of the hut we shared and quickly began to follow her.

She was waiting for me as I entered, strap of leather in paw. I knew immediately that meant I was going to be doing meditation training before being allowed to get any rest... it was going to be a long night.

************

Morning came, I managed to eat a quick breakfast before heading towards the training ground where Jun'lao was waiting for me. He was sitting atop the rocks, staring into the distance when I arrived. He was watching the sunrise. It was pretty. The horizon looked like it was on fire, but little by little it gave way to the clear blue skies of the day.

"It's beautiful, isn't it."

"Yes." I agreed.

"Life isn't worth living if you don't take time to enjoy the simple pleasures of nature." He mused. "The most beautiful things are made by nature. But nature is just as dangerous as it is beautiful."

"Respect nature, and it shall respect you."

"That is an interesting saying."

"Callen said it to me."

"Yes, it does sound like something he would say." He stared off into the horizon for a moment. "It's not a bad saying at all, perhaps a little too simplified for my tastes."

"What would you say then?" I asked curiously.

"Nature, to be commanded, must be obeyed." He replied after a moment of consideration. "We tend the land to produce crops, hunt the animals for their flesh and pelts. We bend nature to our will, and yet, should we push her too hard, she shall punish us harshly."

"That's..."

"Essentially what Callen meant." He cut me off. "Mutual respect is earned, both between individuals, but also between nature and those that live with her."

I couldn't really argue about what he said. I didn't want to. What I did want however, was to learn the skills that would serve me in my upcoming fight against Wraith. Sensing this Jun'lao was quick to speak.

"Are you still nervous about your training with Wraith?"

"Yes." I grumbled.

"Fear is not something to be ashamed of Malakye, it is an essential survival tool."

"So what are you going to teach me?" I asked eagerly.

"Many things, however there is not enough time to teach you any of them. But what I can do is make you aware of them."

"Aware of them?"

"Oh yes, our spar yesterday told me you have a strong connection with the flow."

"The flow?"

"Did I stutter?"

"No..." I huffed, annoyed he was making fun of me.

"The flow is a natural phenomenon, which connects everything together." He explained. "Everything we do affects it in some small way. If you can master interpreting the smallest movements within the flow you will become nigh unstoppable!"

"Amazing! And I have a strong connection?"

"Oh yes, even more so when you are using your nen."

"I've never really sensed anything like that." I said.

"Of course you have! You are just not aware that you are doing it." He assured me. "Many mistake these readings as instinct. An early warning of danger is the most common cause, but there are many other instances. Have you ever known something was going to happen? When there was no real reason for you to be able to do so?"

I thought hard. Sure there were lots of times like that. Tiny, inconsequential things, but he had to mean something more than that. Like...

"What about sensing the movement of the wind?" I asked.

I remember numerous times when practising my gliding I sensed an oncoming updraught, or a shift in the direction of the wind before it actually happened. Like the time Cairn and I leapt off the cliffs after finishing our shift at the outpost.

"Yes, that is one such example." Jun'lao beamed. "Tell me, did you feel like something was going to happen, or did you know exactly what was going to happen?"

"I knew it." I nodded. "I don't know how, but I have always been able to predict the movements of the wind when drawing on my nen. I just assumed it was due to my affinity for wind, not some other force."

"It was probably both." He nodded. "But reading the flow is so much more than just predicting subtle changes in the weather. In fact, oracles, truth-sayers and far-seers all use the flow to predict the future."

"So I could predict the future?!" I asked excitedly.

"Yes and no. At least not to the extent of making prophecies and the like. At best you'd be able to predict something minutes in the future. But even with natural talent it would take decades of intensive training to reach that level."

"Oh, okay..." I said, slightly disappointed.

"But once you are able to read the flow, you will be able to take on opponents far stronger, and far more skilled than you, yourself, actually are."

This sounded like the perfect skill to use against Wraith! Not to mention Garr, or even Jan'Zar!

"So how do we begin?" I asked, eager to start learning.

"First draw on your nen." I followed his command, allowing it to flow out of me and envelope both of us within the bubble. "Now close your eyes. What do you feel?"

"I... nothing."

"Try harder. Can you sense anything? See anything?"

"I can see you."

"You can?" He asked with a tone of bemusement. "What am I doing?"

"You're waving your left arm over your head while standing on one leg."

"Very good." He stopped doing those things and began pacing around me. "I suspect this bubble of nen allows you to see everything within it?"

"Yes."

"Then you have complete knowledge of the flow within your bubble, and you can interoperate it. Very impressive, but this will only hinder you."

"What do you mean?" I asked, opening my eyes to look at him.

"Your mind is so focused only on the space within the bubble, that it cannot sense the movements of the flow beyond it. If you are going to truly master the flow, you must do more than simply see what is happening around you now, you must sense what is to come!" He explained with some dramatic paw gestures. "Now pull the nen back within your body."

"I-I'll try."

I closed my eyes and tried to do as he instructed. It wasn't easy, but little by little I was able to make the bubble shrink in size. But all I was doing was decreasing the space the nen was spread over. I realised I needed to stop any more nen from escaping my body, not just shrink the bubble. But how was I going to do that? My nen was leaking out of me from all over my body, not just a single point!

This was impossible! It was trying to stop water leaking from a barrel with just your paws, only more difficult. Nen passed through anything, where as water had to flow around it. The only thing that nen couldn't flow through was nen! Suddenly an idea came to me! A nen barrier, like the nen shields I used when fighting other benders, but this one covered my entire body! That could work, but was I capable of forming such a thing?

The nen used to form a nen shield was fundamentally different to that of regular nen, as it functioned to repel other nen. It involved changing the nature of the nen, which was actually much easier than it sounded. Or at least it was a lot easier for me to do in comparison to the explanations that both Xavier and Kassius had given me. Using the nen in the bubble around me I focused my attention on changing its nature. It took a few moments, but very soon the bubble was now acting as a barrier, preventing any more nen from escaping my body!

Now, if I could just shrink its size down so it lay over my scales I would have achieved Jun'lao's request. Jun'lao had remained silent this entire time. I opened my eyes and he was just standing there patiently for me to finish. He was letting me figure this out for myself. I focused on the nen bubble and attempted to pull it back inside me, but I soon realised I wasn't able to. The changed nature of the bubbles nen made it impossible to pull back within me, as it could no longer mix with the nen which saturated the rest of my body.

Once I changed the nature of the nen, while I may still be able to control it, I was no longer able to convert it back. It was lost to me. So I would simply release my control over it, little by little! As I did that, allowing a small amount of the nen within the bubble to escape my control and drift away on the wind, the bubble slowly shrank down until there was nothing more than a thin layer over my scales! I had done it!

I smiled to myself in victory, and moved for the first time in ages, having been standing stock still this entire time, and was happy to see that the nen barrier moved and stretched along my scales as I moved. I stared at my arms, sensing the second layer over my scales which was invisible to the naked eye.

"Well done." Jun'lao said. "What do you feel?"

"Stronger." I said. The power within me felt that much greater now I wasn't allowing it to escape my body.

"Anything else?"

"Not really." I shook my head, not sure what else I should be able to feel.

"Then let us see."

He attempted to punch me, I narrowly managed to avoid the blow by swerving my head to the left. I immediately raise my arms and block a punch from his other fist before it struck my chest. I leapt backwards to create some distance between us. He didn't pursue, instead he took a fighting stance and glared at me with such intensity I felt fear well up inside of me. He was serious! If I wasn't careful he might actually kill me!

I readied myself, but just before I finished settling into my fighting stance, I felt imminent danger coming from behind me and leapt to the right. The ground where I had been standing was suddenly skewered by three spears! I spun around and saw three winged beings of the same race as Jun'lao sitting in the tree tops of the trees which surrounded the area.

"Well done." Jun'lao announced, making me flinch nervously. "You sensed their attack before they even threw their spears."

"I sensed danger." I said. "I didn't know why, or where from. My body just moved on its own."

"As I said, an individual's link to the flow can be mistaken for pure instincts. You're body used that link to instinctively move you out of harms way. I will train you to be able to read the flow, to not only sense danger and read where it is coming from, but also how you can use it as a weapon, greater than any sword!"

"I can use this to defeat Wraith?"

"Yes, but there is not much time. So the best I can do is show you how to use it to predict when he may attack! It may only be a split second of warning, but it could be enough."

"Then lets do it!" I puffed out my chest and straightened my back, trying to show him just how determined I was.