Li’s Master

Chapter 1

…

“Excuse me, young man,” he said, motioning Li over to him. Li hesitated for a beat, shrinking deeper behind the wall. The man laughed, “Interesting, you’ve come to me for something but still haven’t made your mind up whether you want to. If it helps, I’ll be here sipping my drink and taking in the sights until you’re ready to talk about what you want.” As soon as he had finished talking, he turned to his landscape view as if Li no longer existed.

On this high an elevation, nothing can be hidden from one’s eyes. Forests, rolling hills, and small villages went on forever, with nothing being untouched by grass. The afternoon sun glimmered over the far hills. And just behind that hill, the hill that’s furthest away, is…wait now Li’s right next to him.

The man looked down at the kid, bemused. “So what was it that you wanted, son?”

Li opened his mouth to speak but closed it right after, he would have to coax his words out a bit more. “We could start with names if that seems less daunting to you,” The Man said, “I’m General Francois, of the King’s seventh divine army, protector of his realm,” and he held his hand out for a handshake.

Maintaining eye contact, Li took his hand, “I’m Li.”

“Okay, master Li, what would y-”

“I want you to teach me!” Li blurted out, Francois was taken aback.

“Teach you? Teach you what?”

“I don’t know,” Li mumbled, growing redder from his interruption, “I was told that you are a master and could teach me.”

Francois ran his hand through his dark grey hair and scratched his head. Through nervous laughter he said, “I could teach you my geoberry pie recipe. But I am not sure I can teach you anything more effectively than the passage of time could.”

“Please, I was told you could teach me.”

“By whom?”

“My parents.”

Francois mulled this strange proposition when he spotted a few men coming up the hill, “You’d better go back to your hiding place,” Francois muttered to Li, “Strictly speaking you shouldn’t be here, but we’ll talk in a moment.” Li jogged back behind the house’s wall and Francois turned back to his wonderful view.

Three panting soldiers struggled up the hill as Li looked on. Li was the only one looking at them as Francois continued to relax in his chair. Their uniforms were exactly the same as Francois’ but more weathered and with slightly different insignia.

“Gen…gener…Frank…” the middle soldier puffed.

“Jamie, did you want me to give you men a moment to catch your breath? Here, I have a few extra chairs. Come around the table and have some food.”

The two soldiers on either side started walking towards the table but Jamie flung his arms out to stop them, “We don’t need anything,” he said. The other two groaned, “We have a problem.”

Francois’ face tightened and he put down his spoon, “What’s wrong?”

“Some of our men came back wounded from the front lines, we tried to stop them but…well…see.”

“You’re not on trial. Just tell me what happened.”

Jamie hesitated, seemingly expecting to be slapped the second he opened his mouth, “It’s some of the soldiers in the reserve. They ran off as a group trying to enact some…plan. They sneaked into town and tried to murder its mayor, but got caught by the local guards. Luckily they weren’t in their uniforms so our approach is still masked, but we had to send more troops in after them and the escape got violent.”

Francois grumbled, closed his eyes and looked down. Jamie opened his mouth but Francois held his hand up to stop him. The other two soldiers looked at each other, not knowing what to do bathed in this awkward silence. “We have now all bloodied our swords,” Francois took another uncomfortably long pause and focused on his breathing.

“How many lashes should they receive, my lord?”

“Send them home.”

Every soldier, and even Li, were taken aback, “Um, but shouldn’t they be punished?”

“Bloodshed will not cure bloodshed, these men are too blinded by glory to learn from a beating. They had already decided the benefits outweighed the punishment, they need time away from the front.”

Jamie stared at Francois, with his eyes still closed, then bowed, “Thy will be done, my lord.”

As the soldiers turned to leave, Francois glanced back at Li, still processing what he had just witnessed. The soldier that remained craned his head and tried to follow Francois’ line of sight, “What are you looking at, my lord?”

Li gasped and ducked out of view. He held his breath hoping that if he wished enough the soldiers would ignore him. He peeked out again and the tip of a sword filled his entire field of vision.

“Oh, it’s a kid,” the soldier said, lowering his sword.

“What are you doing?” Jamie shouted, “Keep your weapon on him!”

“But sir, isn’t that a bit extreme?”

“I have heard rumours of them using children as young as ten in their army. Keep your weapon on him or I will.” The soldier reluctantly raised his sword again, mouthing the word “sorry” to Li. “Bring him here” Jamie ordered.

As soon as the two turned around and Li came into view Francois let out an earsplitting “AHA.” Everyone jolted and stared at him, “That’s where you ran off to, nephew. You’d better go inside before someone pokes your eye out.”

Everyone froze in place. “M-my lord,” Jamie stammered, “I know you’re our general but you…should know that we can’t allow any civilians near a battlefield.”

“I know, this little one managed to chase me down from halfway across the kingdom. I have already arranged a transport which should arrive in a few days.” The soldier near Li heard this and, realising he was threatening a general’s family, fumbled his sword into his sheathe. “Go on, then. We won’t be too long,” Francois said, motioning Li into the house.

Li walked sheepishly to the house and closed the door behind him. Despite the magnificent view outside, the house made no effort to be as breathtaking. The walls were simple timber and the furniture was the definition of ‘bare necessities’.

After a few minutes of lying on the couch, wondering what was going to happen to him, Li’s worrying quickly gave way to boredom. He started looking at every square of the house: A bedroom with a bed and nothing else, a kitchen about as cramped as a cupboard, and a room.

He tried to slide the door to the side but it was stuck, and wouldn’t budge no matter how much force Li gave it. That was it, Li gripped the door with both hands and was about to yank it as hard as he could when a hand grabbed his shoulder.

“Usually, doors are closed for a reason,” Francois said, walking over to the cupboard kitchen. Li remained silent, like a computer struggling to process the sheer information it has been given. As soon as Francois had come into the house Li was thrown back into confusion and doubt. Francois emerged from the cupboard kitchen holding an egg and a brown sack of liquid, but stopped when he saw Li’s intense stare. Francois furrowed his brow, “What’s wrong?”

“There’s a war? What war? When did this happen?”

Francois dropped the sack and placed the egg on the table and walked over to Li, kneeling to talk to him, “How old are you, Li?”

“Twelve.”

“And your parents never told you about the war?”

Li shook his head.

“Oh dear, they have done you a great disservice. Let’s sit on the ground, I can tell you what they haven’t.”

Li dropped straight into a cross-legged seating position and Francois slowly lowered himself onto the floor, “The cities of our world are their own creature. Each on their own yet all linked by one common factor: us. Wattle, my home, had a king. But, many wanted the individual to have a more powerful voice. Everybody had split up into the two sides, with either side seeming like a badge of honour, or a disgrace depending on who you made your company with.”

“What side were you on?”

“Oh, the start of the war was well before my time.”

“But you’re…an age,” Li said

Francois squinted at the kid, “This is a conflict that goes beyond any one lifetime, I am on the tail end of the second generation of fighters.”

“And you said you were in the king’s army, right?”

“Exactly. The war truly took shape when the first alliances with other cities started. It spiralled to now and there’s no end in sight.”

Both sat in silence, Li was trying to make sense of a war that he never knew existed, and Francois wondered if he’d be happier if he didn’t know there was a war. Francois got up and went back to the counter where he had left his sack and egg. He put the egg in, closed the sack and started shaking it.

“What side is my city on?”

Francois stopped shaking, “What’s your city?”

“Pine.”

Francois placed the sack on the counter again, “Huh, that’s the capital of the Republican Peoples’ Army.”

Li’s heart rate shot up, “Uh…y-you’re not gonna ar-arrest me are you?”

“Why?” Francois asked coolly, walking over to the kitchen cupboard, “You’re not a soldier, are you?”

“No, not at all.”

“Then you’ll be fine.” Francois sprinkled a powder over the sack and it exploded to twice its size. He chucked it to Li, “Here’s a pillow. I don’t have anywhere here you can sleep that’s comfortable, but the grass outside should be soft enough. See you tomorrow for training.”

Li turned to the front door but turned back before Francois disappeared into his bedroom, “Wait, before you go, why are you teaching me?”

Francois sighed and patted the door frame, “I have seen too many men take risks that are not theirs to take, and sometimes pay the ultimate price. I have to let at least one person leave this battlefield a better person,” As soon as he finished he disappeared into his room and slid the door shut.

Li walked outside and was bathed in moonlight. He found the most comfortable patch of grass and dropped his pillow on the ground and fell backwards onto it. The whole galaxy was out in full force tonight. Vibrant streaks of purple shone against a background of swirling blue, the home of the gods was looking beautiful tonight. Li drifted off…

Chapter 2

“FIRE!” The sound of cannons rocked the air around Li. He shot to his feet and scanned the area. From the morning sun all he could make out was the silhouette of a man striking a pose outside the house.

“Francois!” Li shouted.

“Mm? Oh Li, how was your night under the stars?”

“Did you hear any cannons firing?” Li asked, short of breath.

“When?”

“Just then, they woke me up.”

Francois stopped posing and faced Li, “The nearest cannons are well out of earshot, are you feeling okay?”

Li rubbed his head, “It was probably just a dream.” Francois shrugged and went back to balancing, “What are you doing?”

“Training.”

“What are you training?”

Francois smiled, “Do you know the theory of duality?”

“Uh…yeah. You have two people inside you, or something.”

Francois, still balancing, said, “Close. You actually ARE two people: Your physical and your ethereal. Both have needs, you need to eat, sleep, other things I won’t mention right now. But you also need to feed yourself with happiness, knowledge and connection with others.”

“You’re insane.”

“Being insane doesn’t mean I’m wrong. And that’s what I’m doing right now, it’s less about the posing and more about concentrating on communicating with both of me.” Li squinted at Francois for a moment, trying to figure out if he was trying to mess with him. After a few moments he struck the exact same pose as Francois and launched himself onto the grass with a THUD, “You don’t have to copy me. Some people just sit and close their eyes, some even like to stand on their head. All that matters is you talking to your inner self.”

Li sighed, looking up at him, “Is this the lesson?”

Francois finished his meditation and pulled Li up, “No, you just caught me at a teachable moment. Come with me.”

Li followed Francois to the other side of the house. No matter where you were, the views of grassy hills stretched on forever. And without another word, Francois leapt off the side and slid down. He had unparalleled control, using his back arm as a rudder to swerve around bumps and loose rocks. The hill ended sharply and he ran off the side until he came to a complete stop. He turned around and shouted back up to Li: “Your turn now.” Li started walking to edge when, “Slowly!” Francois shouted.

Li laid down on the edge of the hill and crab-walked down, planning every change in direction well in advance of the obstacles.

He had started to get into a good rhythm and for a while he…oh there’s the bottom. Li pushed himself off the hill and looked up at Francois, “Was that the lesson?”

“Nope,” Francois responded, “We just needed to get down the hill.”

“But what if going down the hill is a metaphor for…”

“Don’t get started like that, everything can be a metaphor if you stretch it to death. Come with me and I’ll teach you something a bit more practical.”

The two journeyed through constantly changing elevation and crab-walking until they arrived at a wide, and more importantly flat, clearing. A ring of stones jutted up through the ground like teeth, surrounding the grassy flatland. The two were surrounded on all sides by hills making any practical retreat impossible. Francois mumbled to himself as he looked around this arena.

“What are y-”

“Hold on, I’m looking for something…AHA, here it is.” Francois jogged over to the far end of the arena and dug his fingers into a patch of grass. He flung it open revealing a secret compartment filled with wooden training weapons, “Pick your poison,” he said, motioning Li over.

He was presented with 12 different kinds of sword which were…swordlike, I guess. Li sure couldn’t tell the difference and he picked one at random. Besides the slight curve of the blade, it looked enough like a ‘sword’. Li looked around and found Francois had retreated to the centre of the arena while he wasn’t looking.

“Now,” Francois began, “I want you to knock me away from where I’m standing. Even if I slide my foot slightly, that counts.”

Li gripped his sword tightly, making his knuckles white, “But, I’ve never been in a fight before.”

“Neither have I,” Francois smiled, “Now come at me.”

Li declined to think about a soldier who’s never fought and planted his feet, ready to charge. Francois had his sword resting in his right hand, his arm about as slack and effortless as possible. Li pressed off of the nearby rock and sprinted at Francois, his sword horizontal and resting on his arm. He got closer, and closer, and he was almost in perfect slashing range and…wait Francois was gone, and the hills he was charging towards were closer. He turned around, Francois had just redirected Li past him.

“What did…” Li began.

“Charging at me, a tried and true tactic I’m sure the dead can attest to.” Francois jumped and rotated to face Li, “Try again.”

Li rubbed the back of his head, realising this lesson was going to take a lot longer than he thought. This time, there was no charging, or quick movements of any kind. Li walked the perimeter of the arena until he had a full view of Francois’ back. He took up his slashing position and once again charged. Closer and closer he drew once more, this was it. The lesson was clearly not about fighting but about outwitting. And as Li raised his sword to slice, Francois shot his head to look at Li. Li put his entire weight into his swing, aiming squarely at Francois’ chest. Francois ducked, letting Li flip himself over and roll leaving a trail of ripped grass in his wake.

Li tried everything after that: Zigzagging, throwing his sword at Francois, faking him out. And every attempt was met with countering, blocking, or ignoring. The sun was beginning to dip below the hills and as Li’s next attempt was ruined by the sun shining in his eyes, he threw down his sword, “That’s it. I’m done.”

“What are you talking about?”

Li scoffed, “I get that you’re teaching me how to fight, but I’m not going to keep going when I’m exhausted and the sun is trying to fry my eyes.”

“Come on Li!” Francois enthused, “If you just believe in yourself and power through you can beat me!”

“Great speech, captain, but no way am I gonna keep going. I’m done.”

Francois stared at Li for a few more moments before smiling and planting his sword in the ground, “Good.”

“Wait, what?”

“Those men, the ones that Jamie talked about yesterday. They had ample opportunity to quit or retreat when they knew they were outnumbered, but the didn’t. If you ask any soldier, many will tell you retreat is the most dishonourable option, but those men do not rise high in the ranks for good reason.” Francois leaned forward on the sword, sinking it further into the ground, “Retreat, now. Take a break and come back.”

Li smirked and scooped up his sword. He walked to the edge of the arena and dropped onto the soft grass, using a rock as a backrest. He closed his eyes, focusing on his heavy breathing, and slowly manoeuvred back to a resting breathing rate. He had started to slouch, his mum had always told him to keep his back straight or he’d live life a hunchback. To straighten up he pulled his splayed legs right up to him. Then, as soon as he reached a point, he bolted up to his feet.

“Oh?” Francois reacted, “Are you already rested?”

“Something just…it felt like…I was breathing and I pulled my legs in. The more I concentrated, the more it felt like…something was there. Then it felt like…”

“A bolt of lightning?”

Li was taken aback, “Well, yeah, exactly. A bolt of lightning. What happened?”

“You made contact with someone for the first time. Your spirit said hello.”

“Wow. But it came out of nowhere. Man, you made it seem harder than it was.”

“Saying hello in another language is easy. But if you want to keep talking you’re going to need to learn to translate. But I’m impressed you could do it at all.”

“Wow, rude.”

“No, I mean that most people aren’t able to open up like that at all. I’m proud.”

Li smirked, “I think I’m ready for that rematch. Especially since I’m apparently a spiritual person now.”

Francois snickered, “Alright let’s get to it.” He yanked his sword out of the ground and pointed it at Li, “Fight me.”

Both stared at each other, ready to fight. Then, Li let go of his sword, it tumbling on the ground. Francois furrowed his brow, “What are you doing?”

“Knowing that I can’t fight you, so I’m not going to.”

Francois sighed, walked over to Li and, without notice, battered him across the arm with his sword, “What the hell!?” Li yelled, rubbing his arm.

“I’m trying to teach you to retreat at the right moments. What you’ve just done is called a surrender.”

“How was I supposed to know that?” Li said, picking splinters out of his arm.

Francois stared into space for a second, trying to find the right words, “Humans are…a pendulum.”

“Um, what?”

“You and everyone else starts off on the far end of a clock, for you that was charging me. Then you learnt that you shouldn’t do that so you swung to the other position. But, that is just as wrong. And you may swing back to charging, but you’ll know better what to do until you reach the centre…your resting state.”

“So I have to keep failing until I’m good?”

“Yep.”

Li thought on this for a few seconds, “So when AM I supposed to retreat?”

“You’re not supposed to know exactly when to retreat, you intuit i-” Francois was cut off by a wooden sword charging his face. He deftly smacked it away and stumbled back a step. Li had risen to his feet and locked his sword in his hand. Both were grinning like idiots, and were staring each other down, waiting for the other to strike. Li launched himself forward and jabbed his sword forward, which glanced off of Francois’ sword. Francois unleashed a barrage of slashes that Li could barely keep up with. Each strike pushed Li back a few steps, and soon they had covered half the perimeter of the arena.

Then he saw it, Francois had twisted himself back, ready to jab. This was his only opportunity. As Francois lunged forward he was bringing his left leg with him. As the sword came towards his chest, Li ducked forcing the sword to bump off his head, hard. He opened the grass patch to the hole with the swords and pushed Francois’ foot out of the arena. His foot came down in a clattering of swords and Francois shot his arms out to stop himself landing face first on the grass. He looked up at Li who was using one hand to clutch his head and the other to point a sword at his chest. He meekly jabbed it at Francois and said, “I win.”

Francois shifted his weight and got his leg out of the hole. But as soon as he put his weight on his legs he let out a brief yelp and fell forward; doing the splits was not easy on the hips. Li ducked down and, still holding his head with one hand, tried to help Francois up.

Francois looked at Li, “Don’t worry about me, is your head okay?” he asked.

Li took his hand off his head and a few drops of blood coated his hand, “It hurts a lot, I’m gonna need a lot of geoberry pie to fix it.”

Francois chuckled and tentatively rose to his feet, “We should nurse our wounds back at the house.”

.

Jamie saw Li and Francois stumbling up the hill. Francois was limping and leaning his arm on Li, who was nursing his head with a bundle of grass. Jamie gripped his holstered sword and rushed over to the two, shouting back to the other soldiers, “Hold your positions!” He slid under Francois’ other arm and helped him over to his outside seat, “Are you okay, my lord? What happened? Who attacked you two?”

Francois chortled, “Oh, this is just a training accident. You seem on edge today Jamie, is today’s report that bad?”

Jamie sighed, his voice quavering ever so slightly, “No it’s…permission to speak freely, my lord?”

“Always.”

“It’s my brother, he was on the front line and was in today’s list of casualties.”

Everybody was silent. One of the soldiers put his hand on Jamie’s solders but he brushed it off, “I’m fine.”

“You’re always welcome to time off in my army,” Francois said.

“No, I’ll take time off after the siege. Until then, I want to keep doing my job. I’ll leave the emotional breakdown for later.”

Francois gave a concerned smile, “Okay, how about you give me that daily report,” He turned to Li, “Better go inside again, see if you can meditate again.”

As Li walked inside he heard Jamie say, “You and your spirit stuff, I’ll never get it.”

He shut the door and transformed the meeting behind him into a background chorus of muffled voices. Once again he had been banished to the house, and after a few minutes of walking from room to room, lying on the couch and contorting into different positions, he was bored. Bored, bored, bored. Even the word was starting to get boring. He slumped against the door and slid onto the ground.

But that position. It was exactly the same as when he first met his…spirit? He leaned hard against the wall, just as he would if he was tired. *Wait, *He thought, I probably should be tired. Li got up and ran in place until the rhythmic THUMP of his pulse was deafening. Puffing and tired, Li slammed hard against the wall and slid down, closed his eyes, pulled his feet back as he had before, and…nothing. He tried everything, he focused hard on the other guy, he thought about nothing, still nothing. Li’s mind raced with the millions of factors that could be changed to make it more like the first time, but then the door handle started turning.

Li scrambled out of the way, narrowly missing the door hitting him on the back of the head.

“Are you okay, Li?” Francois said.

“Um, yeah. Sorry I was just trying to make contact again.”

“I hope I didn’t interrupt it.”

“Oh no, actually I couldn’t connect for the life of me,” While Li was talking, Francois walked over to the stove and took out the spark rocks, “I was doing everything right but nobody talked to me. Do you have any advice?”

Francois shrugged.

“But, I thought you’d know a lot about this.”

“I’m not a guru. I try my best but even I’ve come nowhere close to mastering it.” Francois stopped light the stove and put down the rocks, “I guess…It’s hard for anyone to consciously talk to their spirit. You both have different needs, different goals, different thoughts, different languages. But the way I see it, everything breathes. Some may breathe in different ways but everyone does it.” Francois went back to lighting the stove, “That’s what I think anyway.”

Li looked down at the spot he had tried to sit in a million different ways, Tomorrow.

Chapter 3

A hooded figure came to Li, “Are you ready?” it seemed to say. It was all he could see, a figure looking deeper into him than any mortal could. Li knew, this dream figure was trying to read him, looking for weakness. “Get out of here, this is my mind, my rules,” Li said, groggy but defiant.

The figure cocked its head in confusion and reached out a hand to grab Li’s shoulder. It moved Li from side to side and said, “Um, Li are you awake?”

Li rubbed his eyes and looked under the hood, oh it was Francois. He had a cloak draped over his head and shoulders, its colour matching the rest of his clothes, though without his uniform. “Oh, good morning. You didn’t hear that, did you?”

Francois chuckled, “Don’t worry, being critical of your reality is a sign of strength. Now come on, we’re going to the market.”

That jolted Li awake, “Wait, what? What market?”

“The one we’re going to, I’ll give you some time to get ready. Today’s gonna be a good one.” Francois disappeared around the house, and Li stretched all the sleep out of him. He hopped to his feet and followed Francois.

Francois handed Li a brown sack, and looked at the rolling green hills, “Here’s some food for the trip. This is gonna be a long one.”

The two traversed over the landscape, journeying so far the terrain levelled out and they started seeing actual trees. Actually, quite a lot of trees. The further they went, the more darker it got and the harder it was getting to see each other. And soon a cluster of wooden houses on stilts emerged from a clearing in the forest.

“Is this it?” Li said, stuffing his face with bread.

“Nope, we’ve still got a ways to go.”

Li looked into the houses as they passed. They all seemed deserted, with window coverings hanging half off the walls and disrepair infecting every wood plank. A loud bang came from a house as they passed and both stopped, flicking their gaze towards it. The two looked at each other. Both knew exactly what the other was saying, and they picked up their pace until the village was well out of view.

The two continued walking, still having to bob and weave around trees in the darkness, only being given the light the bled through gaps in the canopy.

“What is troubling you so much?” Francois asked.

Li was shocked, Francois wasn’t even looking at him, “What do you mean?”

“I sense you are having mixed feelings about our journey. I was hoping to entertain some conversation from you, about where we are and where we are going. Even if you were scared or confused…” Francois paused for a short laugh, “You would be talking my ear off. What’s wrong?”

The two kept walking in silence as Li thought about this. Finally, as the trees began thinning out, he spoke up, “It’s just everything. I’ve never been this far away from mum and dad for so long; I still don’t know why they sent me off. I’ve liked the training so far, but I still don’t know what this is all leading to.”

Francois mused on this for several silent moments, letting off an ambiguous, “Hm.” The forest finally ended and the land presented them with a hill to climb up. As they walked the steep angle of the hill; Francois, without a hint of effort, said, “I do not know what drove your parents to send you out here, or to me specifically, but they were trying to do what all parents are trying to do: make their child better.”

“But I don’t know why they would send me out here, and to you…no offence.”

Francois shrugged, “I have lived a surprising amount of lives in my 24 years and they may have met me during one of them. But why I was chosen as a teacher? I have no idea. My ability to teach starts and ends at the experiences I have personally.” As soon as Francois finished, the two reached the peak of the hill. Even from as far back as they were they could hear the bustling city.

At the base of the bowl lay the city: Trees and shrubbery shrouded much of it, with a enormous tree making the centrepiece as it rose higher than any other and had a distinct red tint. The buildings that could be gleaned from their view showed wooden housing that varied wildly from one another. Some were wide, some rose as tall as their foundations allowed; every house seemed to be placed without care for position or wealth. The whole picture created a symphony of oddity; compounded with the strange, almost inhuman, shouting that came from what sounded like the market.

“Or maybe they wanted you to get out more,” Francois said, laughing and patting Li on the back.

One uneventful slide down the hill and they had reached the bowl, approaching the leafy city. As they got closer the sense of darkness flowing from the city became more apparent. The biggest question on Li’s mind was, “How are we going to see in there?”

Francois smiled, “That’s the beauty of this city! You will be blind for all but the few areas that light bleeds through. But you will still be able to see everything and everyone.”

Li scratched his head, “That seems more confusing than beautiful.”

“The forest this city was built in has…interesting properties. The forest will let you see if you let it.”

This further confused Li. A forest letting people do things? Since when did trees let people do things, or do things themselves?

“I can see you trying to work out the specifics. It will all make sense once we pass the treeline.” As Francois said that, they reached the edge of the city. The foundations of the city dared not venture further than the range the forest would allow. Francois walked further without hesitation, but Li took a moment. “What’s wrong, Li?” Francois asked

“So, the forest is going to get inside my brain?”

Francois walked back over to Li and crouched, with some effort, to Li’s eye level, “Not any more than the way my words are inside your brain now. I speak, the words travel into your head and become thoughts to be judged by yourself. That is all.”

Using Li as support, Francois hoisted himself back up and readjusted his cloak. As Li passed the border, he prepared himself for a chat with the trees or whatever. And…nothing. “It’s still dark for me, Francois.”

“Just give it a moment; it’s always difficult for first-timers. Much like with everything.”

And there it was. Li thought of how Francois’ words entered him, and opened his mind more to other sources. As soon as he did that, and with a few deliberate blinks to re-calibrate, he saw everything. It was pitch black, so dark that if somebody had set a fire it still wouldn’t penetrate the darkness. And yet, somehow, Li knew where everything was.

A market transporter rushed across a road just ahead of them hauling a cart, the houses on either side of them ranged from shack to luxurious, sprawling, complex. But all buildings bent to the layout, the whims, of the forest they resided in. Francois patted Li on the shoulder and motioned him to move further in.

What little light broke through the gaps in the treeline and canopy disappeared as soon as the two walked more. Despite this Li could still make out every detail of his surroundings, even more so than his normal sight.

“If you ever want to improve your spiritual acuity, there is no better place than this great city.” Li looked up at Francois, confused. “Insight,” Francois clarified, “This forest forces one to see without their eyes; but the fact is that you can do this anywhere, although with more training required.”

Li thought about this some more, “Is there any limit to the abilities you can learn from your spiritual side?”

Francois grumbled, “There is more to this than learning tricks or abilities. If you start thinking like that you become a magician.”

Li cocked his head slightly, “A magician? What’s that?”

Francois breathed in and out, like he was preparing to receive a punishment, “If your training, and your constant attempts to improve yourself, is building a partnership between yourself and your spirit; Becoming a magician is you denigrating the relationship to that of a slavemaster.”

Li was surprised at such harsh language, and he couldn’t hide his shock from Francois. Francois put his hand on Li’s shoulder, turned towards him, and crouched to meet his eye level, “You will be tempted to take easy shortcuts. The results can be enviable, and create immense power for yourself. However, much like a slave, your spirit will be drained over time and if pushed too far, you can sever this link between them and yourself. Permanently.” Francois got up, and patted Li on the back, “Hard work bears little fruit, but over a long period of time the gains to both yourself and your spirit are immense.”

Francois and Li continued walking, as Li thought about how much the outside view of the city betrayed its awesome size. The only straight part of the road they were walking was the small stretch entering the city. Every part after wiggled and bent in obtuse ways to accommodate the forest layout. The only time it ever got close to being straight was to bend the other way, or for an awkwardly placed junction.

Finally, the two saw a clearing in the distance, the only concession the forest seemed to give its citizens. From as far back as they were, they could hear the murmurs of a market well outside of its peak hours. As they reached this clearing, Li asked, “Why is the market so quiet? Isn’t it the middle of the day?”

“Tell me, what time is it?”

“Um…the middle of the day.”

“How can you be sure? How do you know that without seeing the sun?”

“But, don’t they go outside?”

Francois shook his head, “No need, the forest provides for all their needs. These people have no need for outside timekeeping, and instead have their own schedules.”

The market was in sight when Li asked, “How do you know so much about this city?”

“I’m a battlemaster. I like to thoroughly research the cities my army does operations in,” Francois said, not missing a beat.

Li felt his heart drop into his stomach, “What!? You mean this is why you’re living on that hill? What are we even doing here, we have to go or we’ll be killed!”

Francois put his hand on Li’s shoulder; Despite the horrific ramifications of being here, it helped, “Li…we are in absolutely no danger here. In fact, this is part of the reason we’re even here. This is your training.” Francois could see the confusion in Li’s face, “Blending in with a crowd of people is one of life’s great challenges. Not just in a crowd you think you don’t belong but everywhere. Blending requires knowing about people, empathising with people…and truly connecting with everyone around you like you’ve known them for centuries.”

“B-but, why didn’t you tell me we were doing this earlier? You’re fighting this town and one of the people here are going to call me out, I’m too scared to do this we have to go.”

Francois felt Li shaking and he sighed, “We’re…not here to fight.”

“Sorry?”

“As far as my soldiers, crew and you are concerned, they all think we’re here to besiege the town. But I’ve been making sure to post soldiers away from roads so that essential supplies are still reaching these people. In fact, it’s safer now that bandits have seen the army and aren’t as inclined to attack innocent traders.”

Li’s fear of capture had now been completely overwhelmed by his need for answers, “But, why are your soldiers even here if you’re not conquering this city? And why lie to them?”

“I have a meeting set up with one of the tribal elders here, I’m going to convince them to side with us as allies rather than be subjugated. And the soldiers -”

“Are here to prove you can protect them, right? You’re keeping your soldiers here to protect innocent people.”

“Well…yes. You catch on quick, young man.” Francois ruffled Li’s hair and Li grinned like an idiot.

They were a few steps up the road from seeing the clearing, and as they walked Francois said, “I’m sorry for not telling you about your training earlier. But, in order to properly blend you need to be free of apprehension and fear. Once you are here, and at least partially immersed in the city it becomes easier.”

Li was about to respond but they were bumped from behind by someone, “Sorry sirs,” the man said, walking with a pregnant woman and carrying baskets in either hand. Francois and Li looked at each other and then behind them. A crowd of people were walking, the murmur was quiet but everyone seemed completely comfortable talking with each other. The rush hour had arrived. Li entered the gap in the trees and his senses were almost overwhelmed. Smells that were completely alien, hot and cold winds that blew over him at random, and a sprawl of buildings that was more complex than the forest they sat in.

“Welcome to the most amazing, chaotic, terrifying and confusing market anywhere. Something special, isn’t it?” Francois said, still taking in a sight it seemed like he had known for a long time. At this point Li’s anxiety was mounting. The amount of eyes that could be on him were increasing exponentially as people flooded in at faster rates, and market owners spoke to anyone who even made eye contact with their stalls. Much like with the crowd, nobody shouted. But this made communication no less chaotic.

Li breathed in, his breath wavering slightly. Francois, still entirely engrossed in the beautiful chaos of the market, said to Li, “Look at these people. These mothers, fathers, and workers who are all currently buying and selling until their lungs give out. Ask yourself: what do these people want?”

Francois prodded Li forward to begin walking, as Li continued thinking about this question.

Li looked on the people, the people who were all exchanging coin, talking and laughing with their loved ones, and demanding from the marketeers. It all created a rich tapestry, but all with a single aim: “To buy things?”

“But what specifically?”

“I don’t know. Food, pots, art. They’re all here for different reasons.”

Francois smiled, as if Li had sprung his verbal trap, “They are and they are not. Different reasons? Yes. But they are all here for the same reason.”

Li stared at Francois like a deer in the headlights, “But…how? Of course they’re here for different reasons. They buy things and talk to each other. But how are they not different?”

Francois took a moment, “Words betray meaning. I could never explain what I need you to see. But I just need you to see. Take one more look…a long look; tell me what you see.”

Li’s head was throbbing at this point. See but not see? Same reasons but different reasons? Li opened his mouth to probe further but he knew he was already well over the line of pestering. Immediate answers would not be granted to him, and Li knew that Francois was being evasive on purpose. To satiate his curiosity, he had to turn his ire toward this lack of answers to actively thinking about it.

As he relaxed, breathed in and his picture of the forest got clearer; he got it. He focused on his breathing, letting in not just the forest, but everyone around him as well. His brain was working overtime thinking about it, he closed his eyes to block out the forest, and even Francois, but let in the people around him. Francois was either gone or deadly silent, Li reached his hand out and grabbed, what was hopefully, Francois’ arm, “I want to be.”

“Say again?”

“That’s why everyone is here: to buy, to talk, to engage, to be.”

Li couldn’t help himself, he peeked one eye at Francois who was grinning back at him like an idiot, “And now?”

“Um…I want to see what food they have.”

Francois let out a laugh that came straight from the belly, “Great work.”

Li felt like he was a part of this community, that he knew the ins and outs of how these people think. If they were to be attacked, he knew how they would react. When these people gather in the market, he not only knows but joins them with ease.

“We need to go here!” Li shouted, tugging Francois toward a rather stripped-down untreated wood stall.

“Why?”

“They make some amazing fried sap. Trust me, it’s way better than it sounds. Ooh wait, no we gotta go over here and try the juice stall. They have every juice on the mainland!”

They arrived at the stall, and just like Li told it there were colourful liquids in sacks plastered across the back wall. “Could I get some spiced resin with some of the yellow, please.”

The tender grabbed one of the wooden, “You got it, one usual coming up. I haven’t seen your around the market, do you live on the outskirts?”

“I do, I live near the east division. The one with the garden clearing, you know the one?”

“Oh! I have an aunt who lives right on the edge of there, almost getting sunlight on her place. Man, she really got worried when the bandits began raiding the north division. Do you know if-”. Of course he knew, Li was coasting on the shared knowledge of everyone in the city. As Li and the marketeer kept talking, Francois could see that Li was almost hyperventilating from the amount of information he was receiving. Li was clearly working overtime to process everything he was learning in the fraction of time needed to talk.

”- the natural springs there are just spectacular. Are you okay, kid? You’re starting to go pale.”

He was right, everything was becoming a white hot mess of what he needed, what he didn’t, and what he didn’t want. People’s likes, fears, motivations, loves, hates, it was becoming a searing hot dagger in his head. Li let out a pained yelp and crouched down. People were looking, stopping mid-conversation to stare. He was no longer one of them.

Francois bent down and put his hands on Li’s shoulder, “LI!” He shouted, “Li, I’m going to get you out of here just hang on.”

“You should…pay him,” Li choked out.

Francois twisted to meet the marketeer and he shoved his hand in his cloak pocket, “Keep it, just get your son to see someone,” The seller said.

There were more pressing matters than correcting someone. He wrapped Li’s arm around him and carried him as far as he could walk from the giant spirit soup they were in. He hauled Li to the point where the first light beams break through the canopy, a physical reminder of the physical world, and leaned him against a tree trunk.

“Li, the sheer amount of culture and people you are taking in right now would take centuries of discipline to process. I see you trying to withdraw, but once you’re in you can only leave by complete severance. We can’t leave in time, you need to go up instead of out. Take in everything as if you were a bird, observing but not interacting. Please Li, you need to do this.”

Li had gone pale and was almost shaking himself onto the ground. He didn’t say anything but Francois could see Li understanding. And then, he stopped. No shaking, not thinking, nothing. Francois considered checking him for life but Li needed no distractions. A wave of blood rushed back into Li, the ghostly pale had been replaced, and he looked at Francois once again, “That was a lot more fun before.”

Francois breathed a sigh, like he had been holding his breath this entire time, and lunged forward for a hug. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”

Li smiled and pushed him off, “Okay, okay, you’re embarrassing me now. I wish you were in my mind just then, it was amazing.”

Francois widened his eyes, “Amazing? You should have seen how you looked.”

“I was panicking and almost lost it…but then I was released. I looked at what I was getting not as a participant but as an observer. I still kinda get what I’m receiving, but it all feels fuzzy and distant like I’m looking at this place from one of the hills.”

Francois held out a hand and hoisted Li to his feet and, without saying a word, began walking towards the clearing and home. “Wait,” Li interjected, “I want to go back in.”

Francois was shocked, “You want to go back!? I almost lost you in there, and the forest only gets more intense closer to the centre.”

“But it’s different now. I’m out of that scary place, and now I can walk amongst the people, not with them.”

Francois looked at him for a few moments, sighed and said, “The first sign of trouble and I’m carrying you out of here on my back, deal?”

Li grinned, “Of course.”

While they walked back, on the long winding path to the market, Li noticed Francois regularly flicking his gaze from the road to him, then back to the road again. After a few moments Li couldn’t take it anymore, “What is it?”

“Hm?” Francois answered.

“Why are you looking at me so much?”

Francois grumbled, “I just cannot figure you out. You said you live in Pine but you’re not spirit born, are you?”

“What? No. I don’t even know what that means.”

“You seem acutely tuned to the spirit world, more than any physical being should be. Actually, hang on.”

He stopped and reached deep into his cloak pocket. Li leaned to get a better look and jolted back when Francois pulled out a dagger, “You had that there the entire time!?”

Francois walked to the closest tree and jammed it into the tree, pressing his ear up to the hilt, “I did tell you about the bandits, didn’t I?”

Li stood in bewilderment as Francois moved from tree to tree, variously stabbing them, listening to them, shaking his head, and moving to another one. “What are you doing? Aren’t these trees supposed to be alive or something? I’ve been trying really hard not to break any sticks or anything.”

Still concentrating on his task at hand, Francois responded, “Err, you don’t need to do that. I may not have your natural gift, but I can certainl-” Francois had found it, he tapped the blade a few times and smiled, “Here hold this,” he said, letting go and motioning towards the hilt.

Li followed Francois’ lead and cautiously placed his ear on the hilt. He tapped the blade a few times and, “You don’t have to do that,” Francois interjected. Li leaned in more and a horrific screech made him jerk his head away.

He clasped his hand, a little harder than necessary, over his ear, “AH, what the hell is that? Is the tree yelling at me for stabbing it?”

“No, the tree heals easily and this is little more than a thorn to it. No human being should hear anything more than a grumble. Somehow your physical side is inextricably linked to the spirit, that explains the…”

“Almost dying?”

“Well…yes. I’ve only ever had one other case of this and…I’ll just make sure to eject you as soon as it all becomes too much.”

With that confidence inspiring promise, the two finally were once again underway. Li was curious but knew better than to ask.

Chapter 4

The guys arrived at a tent, just off the path from a busy intersection. Carts and families rushed with no rhyme or reason, yet all seemed to pass without issue. Wow, these people really know each other, and they don’t almost explode Li thought. Francois had spent the time talking with the person standing out the front. However, every time Li decided to eavesdrop it sounded like nonsense. Not even a different language, it was the same sequence of noises and grunts that an animal would create. Li opened his mouth, but Francois seemed to be on a roll with whatever he was saying and left well enough alone.

Francois tapped Li on the shoulder, “I need to go in, can I leave you on your own?”

“No problem. I’ll just wander around and-”

“Actually, I was thinking more just stay here and talk to John the guard.”

Li peeked past Francois at the man clad in grey bark plate armour, and was clearly either drunk or about to have a heart attack. “Come on, Francois. Isn’t the whole reason I’m here that I need to be with the people here?”

“Yes, but that was before this became the most dangerous place to be for you. Just, please promise me you won’t go anywhere,” Francois implored.

Li reluctantly nodded. Francois stared at him silently for a few more moments before turning to enter the tent. Li sat down at the base of the closest tree and looked up. A small breeze was blowing through the whole forest at all times, and the interlocking leaves above him swayed rhythmically. When one leaf was uncovered, another behind or in front of it took its place. It was almost like this whole forest was just a lot of clockwork made by somebody or some people, not something that could naturally sprout up.

After a while of this, Li was bored. There’s only so much entertainment you can get from looking at leaves. He looked back at the guard, stiff as a statue, and got up to walk to him. He snapped his fingers a few times in front of his face, no reaction. He wasn’t guarding Li, he couldn’t guard the food in front of him.

He paced around in front of the guard. He tried climbing a tree but got sent promptly back to the ground. He leaned against a tree to meditate, but whatever metal block he had put on himself was staying put for the time being. A clattering of metal jolted Li up. In front of him was a woman frozen looking at a pile of blobs of metal ore scattered across the road.

Li glanced back at the inattentive guard and ran over to the woman, “Can I help you?”

“No,” She shot back.

Li was taken aback, “But don’t you want someone to help you pick this stuff up?”

“I’m not trusting anyone to hold my things who emerged from a forest,” she said, not looking up from the things she was picking up.

Li looked back at the, fairly enough, ominous looking collection of trees he came from, “That’s a weird rule to have.”

She looked up at him and chortled. As she went back to picking her ores up, she asked, “So you’re definitely not a local; what are you doing here?”

“Training,” Li said, declining to expose the military secrets of an entire nation.

“Really? Training what? You’re gonna have to be a little more specific here.”

Li thought about that, and leaned his head back against the tree, “Honestly, I have no idea. First we trained fighting. Then we came here to learn about spirits and stuff. I’m starting to think he’s making it up as he goes along.”

She smiled and put the last ore piece in her bag, “Sometimes the best way to learn is to be thrown into the thick of something you weren’t even close to being ready for.” She looked at the road that stretched off into the distance, “Hey, could you do me a big one and escort me back to the shop? Being new you might not know but we have a bandit problem but you seem like you can handle yourself in a fight.”

“Oh, uh. I was asked by F…my trainer to stay here.”

“Don’t worry, it shouldn’t be too long and you just have to walk along the road.”

Li ummed and erred until, “Okay, sure.”

He slid off the tree trunk and walked beside the woman, before moving she said, “By the way, and this is just for my protection, I do have a weapon and I will use it if you attack me.”

Li felt a cold wave fly through his body, “N-Noted.”

Five minutes of walking in silence later and Li asked, “So what’s your name?”

“Siv. now what are you doing here besides training?”

Li widened his eyes and tried to hide his shock, poorly, “Why do you ask?”

“You have a certain energy about you, like you’re here for research or something. Detached completely from what’s happening here. Are you a scholar’s apprentice?”

Li settled down a bit, “Well I’m here to learn about spirits. I gotta be a little detached, right?”

Siv huffed, “Well, whatever the real reason is for you being here, I’m sure you’re keeping it to yourself for a good reason.”

The two proceeded to walk in complete silence, with Li wondering what Siv was playing at with her keen deduction. Li perished the thought as all it did was serve to freak him out. He eventually stopped thinking about it and entertained himself with the sensations around him.

The wind that somehow flowed through this central part of a dense forest, or was he on the outskirts? Li had long since forgotten where he was in this city. Actually he was starting to forget who he was. He was inundated with everybody else in the city’s spirit messages and what they were saying and the city and the trees and the plants and everything was spinning and the forest was getting hotter and colder and it was all everything.

Siv looked down at Li, “Uh, Li, are you okay?” She saw him getting pale and stumbling around, his eyes getting visibly more bloodshot with every step. He tripped and grabbed Siv’s arm, and she stumbled with him, “What are you doing?” she shouted, grabbing the dagger in her cloak. She took a few steps to right herself and, fearing an attack she turned around ready to strike. She saw Li face down in the dirt.

Chapter 5

Li awoke to the crackling of a fire and Siv half asleep in a chair next to him holding a wooden kettle in her lap. The more Li woke up the more he noticed the absolute mess of a room he was in. It was clearly the only room in the house and everything had been crammed inside of its rough wooden walls.

Li jolted up and that jolted Siv awake, almost fumbling the kettle out of her hands, “Oh, welcome back to the physical world.”

Li rubbed his face, “What do you mean?”

“I thought you would know,” she said, placing the kettle onto the floor beside her, “For such a spiritually sensitive person I would have thought you’d know. You had an internal crisis, your physical side can only handle one spirit in the aether and you almost died.”

“That’s weird, but definitely feels accurate.”

“Yeah, what usually happens is you either grow up here and can accommodate the forest’s enhanced spirituality, or, like most people, you just aren’t physically capable of taking in more than what you see. But you seem to have gotten the worst of each, you aren’t used to it but you’re too spiritual to just shrug it off.”

“But how was I fine before?” Li asked, now fully awake and struggling to follow.

“I took you to a doctor, and he said you had somehow, with no training, put a mental block on yourself. We don’t know how that happened, and this reaction is so rare it’s only happened in a few cases. But, we made a drink that should counteract the effects for a short while but you need to get out of here until you have more control over your own mind.”

Li was in shock, “Oh, I need to get that drink now.”

“Don’t worry, I mixed the ingredients here and we fed it to you.”

Li furrowed his brow, “How?”

“I poured it into your mouth and he massaged your throat.”

“Ew.”

“Yeah? Well you’re alive so suck it up. More importantly, you have to get out of this city right now, and don’t come back until you’re ready.”

“Oh? But can’t I have a moment to-”

“Do what? What is it that is more important than living? Go back to your mentor, teacher, whoever, and get out of here,” Siv said as she moved her chair to the side and tossed the blanket off of Li.

Li finally understood the gravity of what was happening and leapt to the door, “Nice talking to you, Siv.”

“Go,” She replied sternly.

Li bolted out the door and down the road. He was running so fast he could see the forest change into its different areas. At every second intersection he bumped into someone too fast for him or the other person to comprehend, only enough to exchange a quick, “Sorry!”. And at every other intersection he stumbled over expecting to bump into someone. Eventually the dirt road had flecks of something shiny in it, ore. He made a hard stop and rolled a few times, kicking up dirt along the way. He got up and, albeit slower, ran off the track and into the trees.

He made it to the tent, with its guard continuing to ignore everything around him, and flung the front flap open. Inside Francois and a man were kneeling at a small table. Francois had clearly been deep in explaining a point before staring at Li in concerned shock. The old man he was talking to maintained a piercing glare through his wrinkled. Not angry, but trying to understand Li.

“What’s wrong?” Francois asked.

“It’s happening again.”

Francois glanced nervously over to the elder. The elder continued staring at Li until he raised his eyebrows, in the same way one would shift a million year old mountain, “Our business is concluded. I will send Gardy out there to you if we accept. If we do not, you shall not hear from us.”

Francois scrambled to his feet, took a brief break from panicking to bow to the elder, who limited his bow to a simple nod, and shepherded Li out of the tent.

As Li and Francois speed-walked down the long road home, Francois asked, “How are you feeling right now?”

“I’m okay right now, Siv gave me the drink and it can keep the mental block in place for a bit longer.”

“I…will ask follow-ups later. Right now, I think we should start running.”

Li and Francois sped past the bewildered people who they passed, kicking up thin clouds of light brown dirt behind them. As they kept running, Li could feel the forest leaving him. The “words” it was speaking to him were getting fainter.

“Li!” Francois shouted behind him. Li looked back at Francois, standing well in front of what was now a shadowy forest, “I think we can stop now.” Li Li walked back a few paces back to him and walked off with him. While walking Li looked back at the forest, a city of such character but without the spiritual sight afforded to him looked just like any other collection of trees and shrubbery. It was a spot of plant life in the middle of a perfectly flat plane of grass surrounded by the walls of the grassy valley. And then Li tripped into said wall of the valley. Francois smiled, “Careful.”

Chapter 6

It was dark by the time the two had returned. It was a long day, and they could certainly tell as the aches and pains were so quick to remind them.

THE PLAN FOR FUTURE SCOTT

- Li and Francois shoot the shit

• Introduce dead wifey here and pay off the mysterious door intrigue

- Li and Francois go to the blind monks

- Li gets kidnapped in a raid and Francois’ fate is left ambiguous

- Li is transported near where he lives so he makes a break for it using the shit he learnt and runs back home.

- Li finds out his parents are some of the most high ranking people in the Republican army and he has unwittingly been a spy for them.

- The Republican and Royal armies clash and Li tries to find Francois.

- Despite his best efforts Francois dies and in a blinding flash of light leaves nothing behind but his armour

- Li is spoken to in a dream by Francois and he gives Li the final lesson that he couldn’t, which is to not let the fear of death ever rule his life.

- “What’s death like?” Francois laughed, “You’ll find that out in time. While you’re still here, though, please do good.”

…

“This forest is special in that it thinks for itself, and enhances any life that lives in it. This is why I want to ally with this city; there is nowhere else you will find such unity. And I’m hoping I can export that to the rest of the mainland.”

…

“I know I often speak in vague sentences, as part of your learning process. But I want you to know in no uncertain terms that I never want you to open that door.”

…

“The breath is the bridge between the physical and the spiritual. Everything breathes in different ways, but they all breathe.”

Misc

…

“I heard that soldier call you lord, but didn’t you say you were a general?”

Francois smiled, “Well spotted, I am a general but we are told to lead ‘like his holiness the king would’. So, everyone in our army calls generals ‘lords’.” Li had stopped eating, trying to figure out what that meant, “Yeah, I don’t understand it either. I have asked them to call me by my name but…devotion to duty is a very strong motivator.” “Aren’t you called a battlemaster.” “Don’t think about it too hard, I stopped a long time ago.

…