Journey Towards Dao

The two brothers stared at their father’s back in silence as both parents made their expeditious departure.

Thoughts spinning in curious fashion, Auslen ruminated upon the new word was ringing within his head.

Cultivation? Is that somehow related to the ‘miracles’ that Mother spoke about earlier?

Auslen turned to carefully examine his brother’s appearance, quietly considering.

Well, Aiden should almost be eight years old by now, so he surely has passed the supposed age requirement. Maybe I can glimpse some secrets from this foolish boy during these next couple of days.

At this moment, Aiden shifting his eyes to meet Auslen’s, suddenly flinching from shock due to his younger brother’s intense gaze, faint traces of pink beginning to color his fair cheeks.

Auslen giggled brightly before waddling closer to Aiden, lifting his small arms up towards the taller boy.

“bwothew, wifff mee!” (Brother, lift me!)

Stifling his mouth that had twitched uncontrollably, Aiden carefully maintained his practiced demeanor. He sighed in slight embarrassment before bending down to lift the smiling Auslen into his embrace.

He then began his careful trek along the on the sandstone tile pathway as he made his way to the entrance of the garden.

Within his arms, Auslen glanced up at the fruit trees along the path, wishing he could will down a few plums to snack on. Regrettably, he only had seven baby teeth currently to his name, and he had no desire to lose any of them just yet.

During Auslen's day-dream-filled silence, Aiden arrived at the garden entrance, where he located his two manservants and four guards patiently waiting.

Each of them bowed together towards the two princes before falling behind the still moving Aiden in two neat rows.

The group continued on their way.

Eventually, the magnificently large Royal Palace gradually came into view.

Auslen shook his head once again in honest praise at the sight.

Wide-spreading arches and domes spanned the grounds. The thick palace walls were composed of large white, bronze, and gold colored bricks, each wall lined with the most beautiful sculptures Auslen had ever witnessed, the grandiose image somewhat reminding him of paintings of ancient Roman and Greek architecture that he had seen on occasion in his previous life.

In fact, the architectural correlations were frighteningly numerous, which had filled Auslen’s eyes with suspicion more than once.

As they ascended the wide steps to enter through the door-less, arched entrance, Auslen’s eyes were automatically attracted to the remarkably tall, vaulted ceilings that, in many sections, were only supported by vast lengths of carved, golden columns.

As he lowered his gaze at the endless white, marbled floors, Auslen was once again reminded of the unimaginable amounts of wealth that his family boasted in this new life. He had the pleasure of witnessing this scene nearly everyday for an entire year, and yet he still couldn’t quite get used to it.

Some of my old friends would have quite literally killed themselves to witness such a wondrous scene, even just once! I seemed to have truly lucked-out with that killer-lamp that my dear Abigail brought me. What a filial grandchild she was.

Just as he was silently calculating the number of sculptors needed in order to produce the exhausting number of faceless sculptures that lined many walkways and littered the rest of the estate, rapidly-moving figures in the corner of his eye drew his attention.

Through the columns, Auslen could vaguely see two human figures shooting into the skies, figures whom he assumed to belong to his strange parents.

This scene nearly made him sigh aloud in amazement.

Remembering his father’s previous words, Auslen looked up at Aiden, who had his eyes trained on the quickly disappearing figures in the sky. Auslen touched the boy’s face gently to seize his attention.

“bwothew, wats cuwivashin?” (Brother, what’s cultivation?)

The easily startled Aiden gave a small jump at Auslen’s touch, as if he forgot he was carrying a baby in his arms.

He coughed before his childish voice resonated through the hallway questioningly, “Cultivation? Is that what you meant?”

Auslen’s head nodded wildly, trying his best to convey his eagerness to learn.

Excitement emerging due to the fact that he had finally possessed knowledge that someone else didn’t, Aiden instantly became earnest, his stiff-faced persona collapsing abruptly as he concentrated on his words.

He even forgot to make the explanation suitable for infants before he recited from memory, “Cultivation is the act of absorbing Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi into the body, refining it constantly within the Dao Roots until it transforms into a useable form of energy, known as Profound Qi. Once that successfully occurs, you will become a cultivator!”

“a cuwivata?” (A cultivator?)

“Cultivators are beings that wield great strength and practice miraculous martial techniques! They can live for hundreds and even thousands of years!”

Holy shit!

Auslen froze in astonished thought, ‘Thousands of years?! What the fuck? Is that even human anymore?’

After his thoughts calmed down somewhat, he looked back at Aiden and asked, “awe yoos cuwivata, bwothew?” (Are you a cultivator, Brother?)

Aiden hastily replied with pride, “Yes!”

“weawy?” (Really?)

Aiden paused as his face slightly blushed before nodding his head in reply.

Even though he was somewhat suspicious of his blushing brother, Auslen still decided to give the boy some encouraging praise as thanks for his clarification.

He grabbed Aiden’s cheeks with both of his tiny hands, mouth opened wide in faux exclamation: “yoos amazyn! yoos cuwivata!” (You’re amazing! You’re a cultivator!)

Aiden’s small face turned beet red at the praise, while the manservants trailing behind them could barely hold themselves together, their bodies shaking from silent laughter at the Crown Prince’s white lie.

Instantly embarrassed at the thought of his guards listening to his shameless boasting from behind him, Aiden hurriedly clarified to Auslen within his arms: “It’s nothing! I just started two years ago, and I’m only in the Qi Refinement realm. There's at least four major realms of cultivation, but I'm still only in the lowest realm.”

Qi Refinement realm?

At a sudden inclination, Auslen asked, “can i wach yoos cuwivate?” (Can I watch you cultivate?)

Face regaining his stagnant features, Aiden shook his head at Auslen and replied, “No…”

But before he could say more, he witnessed Auslen’s golden eyes flooding with tears.

Aiden couldn’t help but grow frantic at the sight as he panickingly attempted to explain.

“You can’t watch me cultivate because I already finished my cultivation for today! But you can watch me practice my Martial Technique with my master.”

Suitably appeased, Auslen’s tears disappeared as quickly as they came, confusing Aiden in the process.

The manservants and guards behind them shook their heads silently at the scene of the usually calm Crown Prince being so easily manipulated by his infantile younger brother.

…

They eventually arrived inside a large, windowless, white stone hall. Racks of various wooden and metal weapons were organized and positioned in front of the rows of shelving that lined the perimeter. Decorative swords, sabers, and spears hung from the wall alongside paintings of fierce figures in majestic combat.

A raised circular arena sat somewhat menacingly within the center of the room. Sitting cross-legged on top of said arena was a middle-aged man, whose white robes hung loosely off of his strikingly muscular frame. The palpable aura radiating from the man generated a swelling presence difficult to ignore.

The man's long, gray-streaked black hair was tied up with a thin rope quite severely, giving way to his handsome golden-brown skin and the light beard that accentuated half of his face. His eyes were closed in silent meditation while a wooden sword sat vertically on top of his lap.

Aiden quickly gave a quick and informal bow to the man, before hurrying to the right side of the hall, settling Auslen down on a big cushion before striding back to stand upon the arena, bowing deeply this time.

“Aiden greets Master Gerard!”

Gerard opened his black eyes to assess his disciple.

At this time, the manservants behind Aiden quickly stepped forward to remove his outer robe and circlet, placing a 1 1/2 foot long wooden sword in his right hand before stepping aside to stand next to Auslen.

Their movements drew Gerard’s attention to the infant sitting on a cushion.

A guard nearby handed the boy a small baby bottle filled with an unknown liquid. While drinking from the bottle, curiosity filled his little face as he openly gazed back at Gerard.

As his eyes continued to observe the boy’s immature musculature, his eyes began to grow faintly brighter before chuckling to himself in delight. He thought excitedly, ‘It turns out the Second Prince is quite the martial talent!’

Standing from his seated position, he refocused his attention on his disciple before speaking loudly, “You've brought a spectator today! Well, I’m sure that you don’t want to bore the Second Prince to sleep. Today, we shall be sparring! Let me see the progress you’ve made with your Phantom Steps Technique.”

Aiden cheeks reddened briefly, glancing at the smiling Auslen before he forcefully gained control of his sudden nervousness. His eyes gradually cooled as he gripped his wooden sword in his hands tightly.

Since Aiden did not move, Gerard moved first.

Boom!

Gerard’s feet exploded off the floor with a strong stride, the displaced air creating audible reverberations with each step.

Gerard’s tall frame strode forward at frightening speeds as the long wooden sword tore through the air beside him in fierce momentum. In two quick steps, he had traversed 15 meters, nearly instantly arriving in front of the cautiously awaiting Aiden.

Profound Qi sped through Aiden’s small body, sending bursts of Qi shooting from the pores on his legs as he stepped back swiftly from the incoming sword strike, body blurring slightly from sudden and intense acceleration.

Whoosh!

Gerard’s extremely fast sword slashed viciously, the sword tip slashing only 10 centimeters away from Aiden’s retreating body, not touching him at all.

Suddenly, the wooden sword changed directions without warning, slashing once more as Gerard took an unrelenting step forward, salt-and-pepper pony-tail dancing in the air behind him like a venomous snake.

Bang!

Aiden had no choice but to raise his sword in defense, hastily spinning strands of Profound Qi through his arm meridians as he blocked the incoming attack with a vertical parry, giving him time to adjust his footing.

Gerard was unyielding as he released sword strike after sword strike, Aiden dodging what he could, blocking what he could not, and countering when neither worked.

At certain points Aiden’s body turned nearly ephemeral in his quick movements, causing Auslen to rub his eyes in confusion.

Their spar lasted for around twenty minutes before the profusely sweating Aiden collapsed on his backside, heaving violently. He could not seem to force enough air into his lungs.

Gerard lowered his wooden sword slowly, stepping back to give the exhausted Aiden some space.

Suddenly, a burst of tiny claps resounded in the silent room.

…

Auslen was smiling brightly as his hands clapped with big motions, causing Aiden who was laying on the floor with his eyes closed to let out a soft, appreciative smile towards him.

In actuality, Auslen didn’t gain much satisfaction from the rough beating that his older brother endured for so long. He couldn’t even comprehend 90% of what had just occurred.

However, he still could recognize the child’s extraordinary achievements at such a young age and was content with the foolish boy’s intense work ethic.

Now he could see that, even if Aiden wasn’t a true cultivator yet, he was definitely both stronger and faster than any ordinary human being.

Gerard turned his head toward the clapping sound, his clean and unblemished face producing a rough smirk in Auslen’s direction.

Waiting for Auslen’s claps to cease, Gerard asked, “Are you interested in the sword, little Prince?”

Without even bothering to lie to the man, Auslen denied loudly, “noe!” (No!)

Gerard suddenly choked on his saliva.

After coughing to relieve himself of his discomfort from the unexpected response, he frowned and asked, “Then why were you clapping so loudly just now?”

Auslen shamelessly replied, “cuz me wike my bwothew! me wike his sowod!” (Because I like my brother! I like his sword!)

Aiden’s face couldn’t grow any redder.

Gerard cursed inwardly to himself for his impatience.

Losing interest in prematurely nabbing Auslen as his disciple for now, he turned back to Aiden with a serious, but satisfied expression.

“Your movements were good just now! At times, you let your nerves get the best of you. However your ability to minimize how your nerves affect your movements is showing noticeable improvement. Most importantly, your Phantom Steps Martial Technique has finally touched the threshold of the Minor Success Stage! It won’t be long now before I can begin to teach you how to truly use the sword!”

Aiden couldn’t help but laugh tiredly in relief at his master’s sincere praise.

He had been practicing the Phantom Steps since he first started cultivation at the age of six, and he wasn’t allowed to practice any other Martial Technique until he could reach the Minor Success Stage in his Steps.

Now that he could faintly touch the first threshold, he began to feel that all the pain and sweat were finally worth something tangible.

…

Both Auslen and Aiden sat in the same large bathtub, servants working busily around them as they lathered and scrubbed the boys’ bodies in practiced motions.

Once they finished, both children were rubbed dry with soft embroidered towels before they were dressed in thin, white night robes.

After the servants finally let them free, Auslen collapsed on Aiden’s extremely large bed in exhaustion, his blonde hair spread carelessly underneath him.

His previously burning enthusiasm for cultivation had cooled somewhat after witnessing the distress his foolish older brother had to go through on a regular basis.

As Auslen was lost in his tired thoughts, Aiden suddenly sat up beside him with a gleaming look in his eyes. It was apparent that the excitement brought on due to his master’s earlier praise had yet to dissipate.

The little boy looked at Auslen before he began to tirelessly chatter, “Let’s go out tomorrow! I finally have a day off from training, and I want to see a play at the Amphitheatre and eat food that isn’t made in the Palace! You haven’t traveled outside of the Royal Palace Grounds, right? Ok, it’s set!"

Auslen watched in exasperation as the boy made plans and determined his agreement to those plans all by himself.

However, he suddenly remembered that he wasn’t quite in any position to have an opinion on such things. Otherwise he would have visited the Capital City himself long ago.

But then again, he was somewhat excited himself. He had long wondered about the cultures of normal people within this world. He couldn’t quite seem to imagine it, as he was afraid that he had already been tainted by his current mind-numbingly lavish lifestyle.

Anticipation began to build within Auslen as he looked back at his brother’s animated face. He could see that Aiden seemed to have completely forgotten about the blank expression that he had previously worked so hard to maintain.

Extending his small lips into his signature bright smile, Auslen raised his arms and exclaimed, “yea, wets go to capiwo!” (Yeah, let’s go to the Capital!)