On Astral Tides: From Humble Freelancer To Astral Emperor

“The first-first thing you will need to do is find a suitable source of wind energy. Luckily you seem to have-have some aptitude.” Shaeula gestured at the faint wisps of wind energy that surrounded me, still there from where I had slain her Kamaitachi. To which I’m feeling kind of guilty now I know her better, even though I shouldn’t as it was either them or me…

“If we return to where-where my Territory was we will find-find a rich elemental wind blowing. You will need-need to absorb the wind inside you and guide it to your heart Chakra, for the heart is the Chakra that-that guides wind and its related elements. However, without a full understanding of the wind, you will not-not be able to attune your Chakra, to create the elemental energies yourself.” She finished her explanation, expecting a response.

Knowledge of the wind? I reckon I know plenty about it, although maybe not in a mystical sense…

“All right, and then?” I asked.

“That-that is all you need to do. It sounds simple does it not-not, but the simplest things are often the most difficult. Once your heart Chakra is attuned and creating wind it will grow-grow with use, and you can also strengthen it by absorbing rare wind energies and making them yours-yours. If you are diligent, you may even-even gain a unique wind like my fortunate winds.”

“That’s the one you blessed me with before, right? The one that you said magnifies luck?” I asked, intrigued. This could aid the plan I was slowly putting together in my head.

“Indeed-indeed.” she agreed. “The stronger one’s luck, the more-more there is to magnify and the greater Fortune one has. It also helps one to know when their Fortune is at its peak-peak, and if one acts then good things are sure-sure to happen.”

Yes, this is definitely going to help. My Fortune had increased when I became a Fae-Bonded, so with it enhanced, to say nothing of the knowledge of peak luck… I couldn’t help myself, I started grinning, which confused Shaeula a little.

“Should you start-start to form such an ability, wind energies will also accumulate in your lunar Chakra, as that-that is the Chakra that governs unique powers.” She sniffed then, looking at me harshly. “Of course, with your-your feeble lunar node, asking for such might be too much good fortune, even-even with my help.”

“Don’t be like that…” I laughed, ruffling her furry head again, ignoring her weak protests. “I’ll get it sorted with your assistance. It’s a miracle I owe to you I even have it, I don’t think humans were meant to possess a lunar Chakra.”

“Bah, I know how-how these things work.” she protested once more, as we moved towards her old Territory in the park. Wind energy was visible in the air around us as a faint haze, flowing out from the dungeon in visible streams, winding high into the dark, false light of the Boundary skies. Now that I knew what I was looking for it was quite the pretty sight.

“The process for drawing in elemental energy is superficially similar to-to using aether. However, if you do just-just that, it will be absorbed as aether, usable but quite-quite harmful to your Chakra network.” She gestured expansively to the flowing wind. “No-no, you need to understand the wind to absorb it in a pure state, and if you can not-not, then you must let it flow through you and out-out without being absorbed as aether. Gradually you will understand the energies and be able to command it. Such a task will take much-much time. Even for us Fae it has been known-known to take years.”

Years huh? Don’t really have that much time… “Well, I reckon I know a fair bit about wind, so let’s have a go. I’m sure you managed to master it quicker than years, right? With you and your eyes on our side I reckon I can crack it in weeks.”

“I am not-not sure you have cause to be so arrogant.” she admonished me, shifting bashfully. “But you are right-right, I mastered the ability to draw-draw in the wind within a month. It took longer to strengthen my heart-heart Chakra to produce the energy itself though. I will guide-guide you through the process, so any master of mine-mine should have no excuses not-not to grasp it quickly!” she finished, contradicting her earlier comments about my arrogance. Her tsundere act was getting more textbook by the minute, whether that had anything to do with the fact that her kin were being restored was open to question, but after we upgraded the Barracks again, I would have to see if her moods changed further.

Shaking my head to clear away such useless thoughts I turned my attention back to the task at hand. Just what was the wind? At its most basic, wind was the flow of air, caused by various heating and cooling phenomenon around the Earth. But that was nothing like the vibrant green energy that was found here. Just thinking about the scythes of slicing wind the sickle-weasels and Shaeula used was enough to prove that. The four classical elements were air, water, fire and earth. Wind was analogous to air, so if we looked at air as the element, then in a way things made a bit more sense. Tools on Earth could produce wind drills and blades that could cut thick steel like butter, so that was closer to what I had witnessed…

As I pondered I reached out to absorb the energy, watched by a silent Shaeula, her amber eyes glowing. Faint trickles of wind flowed into me, the remainder of what I had plundered from the weasels first, and then the atmospheric elemental essence slowly began to flow towards, and then into me. At first it was a struggle to not absorb it as aether, which triggered further thoughts. Back in the past scientists thought that aether (or sometimes ether) was the mysterious fifth element relating to spirit. Nowadays there are other elements often added to the basic four, such as light, and in Chinese literature there are the five elements including wood and metal. If the heart Chakra rules wind, then what do the other six rule? I certainly wasn’t going to assume the lunar Chakra ruled an element, as I definitely believed that was an aberration that shouldn’t exist within me.

“I have-have the feeling you are thinking something quite rude now…” Shaeula complained. “Focus. Learn the wind and what it is-is, and does-does! Your control is slipping!”

I am, I am. She was right though. Wisps of the wind energy were escaping my grasp and being absorbed as aether. Still, that in itself was something I needed to understand, the relationship between aether and the other elements. Aether could create fire or wind, or bend space, or even speed things up, which was akin to time manipulation. It took more aether to produce wind effects than elemental wind would require though, so it was not all-powerful. As I manipulated the wind through my networks I considered nature. Fire was born from air, as it could not live without oxygen, and water was also air in a way, as it was made of hydrogen and oxygen, both gases, which were air. Metal and wood were both from earth and other elements, and light was given off by fire. All these things could change to other things under the proper circumstances. So what if aether was the purest version of this, able to change itself to any element?

I ignored the murmured words coming from Shaeula beside me and continued to draw in wind, guiding it. Ice melts to become water, which boils to steam, which cools to water, and freezes to ice… Therefore if aether can become an element, and an element can be absorbed into aether… I think I’ve got it. The elements could all be arranged in a delicate web, centred around aether. It was no periodic table, but it would still be possible to arrange them all in a regimented pattern. As my body drew in aether and wind I noticed that aside from the larger Chakra nodes along the main trunk of my network, there were numerous smaller nodes that were starting to fill up with energy, glittering like dewdrops shining in the sun on a spider’s web.

Some elements are opposites, some are complimentary, some will change into others if the circumstances are right, and others cannot, except through aether, which is the centre of the web and bridges them all… since that was the case, it was obvious that I could handle the wind energy properly. Using some aether to smooth the flow I continued to draw in more and more wind from the surroundings, until my body was tingling, my heart pulsing rhythmically.

“You…. you have-have done it.” Shaeula spoke, shocked, her mouth gaping open. “You are drawing in-in the wind energy, and so smoothly….”

“Well, like you said earlier, I would be a poor master to a noble Seelie Princess such as yourself if I couldn’t do this much, right?” I grinned back, though as my concentration dropped off the flow of wind energy deceased. It was the first time I had referred to her as a princess, as while I had only known her a few days I felt that my earlier fears about reigniting her pride were groundless. After all, her pride was already sky-high, and she would not debase it by betraying the Oaths we exchanged.

“Hmph. You finally recognise me as a princess-princess, do you?” she pouted, but looked happy to my eyes. “Well-well, this step was fast, but you are only drawing in what-what wind energy is around you. It is useful to be sure-sure, as the wind is powerful, but until you can create it from your heart Chakra you will be-be at the mercy of the surrounding elements and what you have within you.”

That makes sense. It’s the difference between a gun that only holds a few rounds of ammunition, and a laser that can create and fire its own bolts. “So how do I proceed?”

Gazing upon me with her mystic eyes she took quite some time to answer. When she did it was with a long sigh. “Your drawing of the wind-wind is passable. With time and the improvement of your Chakra network you will surely grow more-more adept. But to generate the wind… only-only superb knowledge of the wind will allow this, as well as a deep link-link with your heart. You must feel-feel the wind as a part of you!”

“So, can you share your knowledge with me?” I asked. “Surely that would help speed me along.”

“I can-can and I will, but knowledge told is less effective than knowledge you learn-learn yourself. Profound insight is required and such insights do not-not come easily.”

“Well, at least we can’t do too much other than gather ether while we wait for our Territory Anchor to upgrade.” I replied. “While we are doing that I’ll be more than happy to listen to all you know. If I can master the wind I think not only will it make me stronger, I think it can help with the next stage of my expansion plan.”

“Expansion plan-plan? No, never mind. I shall impart all-all of my royal wisdom to you. You had better be-be grateful that you are receiving teaching directly from a princess who is a master of the wind-wind!”

For the next few hours I listened intently to her insights as we hunted what we could to gather ether. Unfortunately other than the occupied Territories around us pickings were slim due to the great work Shaeula and her kin had done clearing out anything they could defeat, but I did gain some valuable insights on the feel of wind and how it was born, grown and used. Unfortunately her knowledge on what the elemental energy actually was seemed lacking.

“I think I’m going to return to the Material now.” I advised her, after we had spent quite a while finding little to hunt but the odd lesser spirit or mutant insect. “We can’t do much right now, and I want to master the wind as soon as possible. I’m going to gain some insights.”

“Very well-well.” Shaeula agreed. “Work hard, and we shall do the same-same and gather enough ether so that more of my kin can return. We shall also protect your Territory while-while it slumbers.”

I ruffled her head again before I departed. “I’ll do that.”

And with that I returned to my room on the Material plane, filled with both wind energy and enthusiasm…