Despite the growing hour, Jo still sat in her office next to the labs on level three, only partially conscious of the time. What she was acutely aware of, however, was that her husband was not going to be happy with her. Again. Well at least he knew about the work. She had no idea how people could date outside of the organisation and maintain a relationship. Thankfully Paul had the patience of a saint.
She tried to focus on the results from the latest series of tests, though her thoughts barely made it through the fog. They had finally started to make some progress with the samples that Patrick and his team had brought back, but it was slow going. She rubbed at her eyes, letting the holo screen in front of her blur as she relaxed her vision. Having already shooed out the rest of her team, she had the momentary thought that she should probably take her own advice and get some rest but was interrupted by the beeping of her phone.
Her grunt of annoyance was quickly replaced by surprise when she realised that the message was from Theo. She sent a message back, agreeing to his request to meet. She flicked another quick message to Paul, letting him know that she would be even later than expected.
Clearing her desk, and sending the latest findings through to Command, she left the labs and headed towards the lifts for level eight. She messaged Pat as she was on her way, letting him know that Theo had reached out.
It was only ten minutes before she entered the aether gardens through the double glass doors. Jo made her way along the paved path, eventually stepping onto the central pagoda. She had expanded her watch out to tablet form and was again sifting through some of the test results when Theo arrived.
She watched him closely as he made his way along the main path. He had filled out quite a bit over the past two months and had begun to walk with the natural grace that came to those who spent time and attention on their body and its movements. He was a handsome boy she thought, having time to observe him as he slowed his pace to take in the natural beauty of the garden around him. Not classically masculine, his features being a little too refined, though he fell somewhere along the spectrum before it tipped over into the feminine.
He had a natural smile, which he gave freely when he noticed her sitting in the central pagoda and which she happily returned.
“Theo, it’s lovely to see you. I’m glad you reached out.” She patted the bench, encouraging him to sit.
“You look tired.” Theo said, and then blushed lightly. “Sorry, habit from my past life.”
Jo laughed. “You’re right,” she said. “It has been a long day in the lab. It’s my other job, besides teaching the first-year students.” She leant back against the wall of the pagoda, folding up the tablet as she did so. “What was it you wanted to speak with me about? Not that I mind a general catch up, but given the time of evening, I presumed there was something specific?”
“There was. I was hoping you might be able to, umm … scan me to make sure everything is ok with my cultivation base? I got injured while sparring and wanted to make sure nothing serious had happened.”
“I’ll admit, it’s been a long time since I passed through the training program, but I seem to recall injuries were not that uncommon?” She probed, sensing that there was more to the story. He paused slightly before responding, a hint of nervousness entering his tone.
“It was a little more serious than a small injury.” He coughed, looking away. She caught hints of his embarrassment, but there was also something else there. “It’s mostly because my friends are all at a higher cultivation level than I am, and my body couldn’t tolerate their strength.”
“You seemed fine as you were walking through the garden,” she challenged gently.
“Ah yes, well, those berries you gave me, they helped, but even my friends were surprised at how quickly I healed. I also had some questions.” She nodded for him to continue when he looked at her again.
“What can you tell me about aether channels?” he asked.
She paused for a moment, surprised.
“Probably a more advanced topic than I would normally go into given your stage of training, but there is nothing inherently harmful in knowing about it,” she said. “Students do not normally have enough control of aether to start focusing on their energy channels in the early phases of body cultivation. That’s why we don’t usually focus on them with first years during the first semester. As a rule, they tend to naturally evolve in response to you developing your breathing technique, and then adjust in response to the increased level of aether in a person’s body as they cultivate.”
“I found something that suggested it was important to focus on my aether channels from the start,” he said, passing her the book he had found in the library. Jo ran her hands over the leather, opening it to peruse the first few pages.
“Looks like early middle-English,” she said, shocked. “You were able to read this?”
“I did use a translator for a lot of it,” he clarified when she looked at him.
“Of course… This is not a book that I have seen before.” Jo was surprised, the books in each of the libraries were very carefully curated to match the students' levels. There were not many that she had not personally read, or at the very least, been part of a discussion about as a longstanding, if episodic, part of the faculty. “Where did you find this exactly?”
“It was in the library on level nine. It literally fell on my head.” Theo laughed, though she could hear his curiosity as well.
“Interesting,” she mused. “Did you feel anything unusual at the time you found the book?”
“Not that I can recall, just a mouthful of dust and a sneezing fit.” Jo watched him closely, though masked it by seeming to peruse the book.
“Would you mind if I borrowed it? I’d like to get a complete translation for myself.”
“Of course.”
Jo placed the book on the bench next to her, frowning at it briefly, before returning her attention back to Theo.
“So,” she cleared her throat. “Getting back to your earlier topic. Aether channels are a natural development from attuning to aether and practicing cultivation. As your inner vision, usually around substrata eight, and your control of aether develops, you will naturally be able to start regulating how it travels through your aether channels. There are some studies that show it develops somewhat like the process of neural pruning in the brain, namely that the forms of your channels will adapt to your individual style and become more efficient in their distribution of aether over time. The earlier you develop a clearer sense of them, the more efficient your own cultivation can become.”
“That makes sense.”
“Our Asiatic colleagues have a much more defined sense of their channels or meridians as they call them, and we have certainly borrowed heavily from them as our own cultivation practices have evolved. We do however continue to test these systems and have found that there are some natural variants which seem to be influenced by genetic evolution across different human cultures.” She watched as Theo contemplated the information, continuing when his attention returned to her.
“As you may have already started in your classes, the first active step in cultivating your energetic system involves the process of cleansing your meridian nodes. On average, the first dozen or so should naturally clear as part of passing through the substratum of the body gate, the rest though will need active intervention. The most I have ever heard of clearing naturally is twenty, and that was a rare case with bloodline involvement.”
Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.
She paused, waiting to see if Theo had any questions. He looked lost in thought, but quickly reacted to the silence, giving her a nod.
“These junctions are integral to the aetheric flow through the body, as well as to our skill development as you have probably already learnt. The degree to which the junctions have been cleansed has a bearing on the formation of your body gate.”
“Is there anything inherently dangerous if I was to focus on my energetic system now rather than later?” He interrupted.
“I shouldn’t think so. We have studies showing that your channels are naturally and intuitively forming and can self-repair with time if not egregiously damaged. At your current stage, you will likely struggle to actively cleanse the nodes or focus on your meridians given your overall aetheric capacity. In addition, people rarely have an internal vision clear enough to be able to focus on their channels to the degree required for active intervention. Nodes, because of the confluence of aether, are a bit easier to feel and see.” She shifted slightly on the bench, making herself more comfortable.
“It has not been a large area of focus for my own studies I must admit, though I do have a good general sense, both from my own practice, and from working with students over the years. There are others that have a better and more detailed understanding of these processes, and one of your second semester classes will go into it in more detail. If you would like, I can reach out to them?”
“I should be ok, but thanks.” Jo watched Theo turn the information over in his mind. She could see the tension in his body drop, the little pulses of anxiety diminishing.
“I take it, given the conversation, there has been some progress in your cultivation?” She asked him.
“There has, and those berries were very helpful, so thank you! I finally broke through the first tier.” He was genuinely proud of the achievement, she could tell.
“I’m glad they helped,” Jo said. “If you wanted to cycle your aether, I can have a look, but I get the sense that everything is in order.”
“Thanks, Jo. My right leg was the one that got injured, if you could let me know there are no issues that would help.” He closed his eyes, his breath slowing and becoming more pronounced. Jo noted, some of her own teacher’s pride rising to the surface, how quickly he fell into his breathing method now.
As he settled, she sent pulses of her own energy out and through his body using her Pulsing Aether skill, a gentle whisper that echoed back to her. She did this repeatedly, getting a sense for the movement of energy as he breathed. She could feel it as it cycled into his core, and then outwards along his aether channels and into his limbs.
Her own vision was muffled as always when viewing others, but she could get a sense of the natural flow. There did not seem to be any major blockages, and his body grew more radiant as the aetheric density increased. Again, she noted a slight loss of aether, like she had noticed when she had guided him in class, but even with her focused attention it was unclear where it was flowing to.
“Everything seems to be in perfect working order, Theo.” She heard his sigh of relief. “You’ve done an excellent job in your progression; I’d guess you are not that far off stepping into the second tier given the density of aether I could sense.”
“That’s good news.” Theo said as he stood. “Thank you so much. I know it’s late, so I won’t hold you up any longer.”
“It’s no trouble Theo, and please, feel free to keep reaching out if you have any more questions or worries.” Jo smiled. There was something quietly innocent about him.
Or perhaps I’m just getting old, she laughed softly to herself. She watched as he made his way out of the garden, a little less tense than when he had arrived. She sighed and pulled out her phone.
“Simson, its Jo. Give me a call back when you get this.”
* * *
Jo pondered the book in front of her. She had scanned it multiple times, only getting the slightest hint of aetheric manipulation. Whatever it was, if anything, it was well beyond her abilities to discern. Even the most subtle of influences would usually give her something, a scent, an image, a hint of what its purpose was. This book seemed almost inert, like it had been washed clean, but there was something there, she was sure of it.
Jo pulled up the translation of its contents on her holo, re-reading it. There was nothing inimical in it, just a slight shift in the ways in which body cultivation was recommended compared to what their program had developed. She was curious about the ending, the hint that there was more than the corporeal cultivation they practiced here on Earth.
Perhaps it was from a time when aetheric density was higher than it currently was, though historical recordings didn’t show too much variance in the overall density in the past few centuries, a contrast to the more recent trend upwards. She was absolute in her certainty it was not of the Ancients. They had access to only a very few relics from those times and they radiated a distinct energy that was not present in the book.
There was nothing inherently dangerous in the contents, though like she had told Theo, none of the newer recruits should have the aetheric sight or control that would allow them to directly manipulate their channels and nodes so early in their training. There were only a few rare bloodlines Jo was aware of that could manipulate aether so instinctively from an early stage of cultivation, and Theo was clearly not of those Asiatic heritages.
Frustration threatened to overtake her usual calm.
Like Patrick, she felt an instinctive trust for Theo, but the finding of an unknown book within the first-year library was unusual. When she had first arrived back at work this morning, she had taken the time to scan the area in the library for any signs of disturbance. Like the book, there was nothing that she could easily identify. Nothing beyond a feeling.
Something was orbiting around that boy; Jo was sure of it. She just was not sure if it was hostile to their Institute, or to him. The alternative, that he was somehow connected to the Tagma, was something she struggled to accept, given what she knew of the boy. Besides, there were other groups that they also needed to be wary of. Not least of which were the legacy families that were putting pressure on command for accepting an insensate into the Institute.
Her phone rang.
“Jo, its Simson. I thought you would prefer I call you today rather than doing so at the time I got your message.”
“It’s fine, Grant. There is something I need to talk to you about. It’s to do with Theo.”
“Go on.”
“He found an unlisted book in the library, though thankfully his first instinct was to bring it to me. I have some suspicion that there has been a breach, but I was not able to find anything from my own scans. I have checked the records, and nothing is showing on the readings.”
“You think they’ve been tampered with?”
“I honestly don’t know. It’s just a feeling, nothing more. I have nothing concrete to go on.”
“Without evidence, my hands are tied, you know that, Jo.”
“I know, and to be honest with you, I still feel that we should trust Theo. I just worry that he is being pulled into something… bigger. You know as well as I do that there are movements happening across the aether sphere. Ley lines have been surging unusually over the past few weeks. There is something coming, Simson.”
“I’m aware, Jo. Trust me when I say that there are things being done to try and understand what that is. Most of which I am not at liberty to say.” She could hear his sigh across the connection. “The Lazar’s are pressuring Command again, threatening restrictions on their crystal mines. They’re particularly antsy with the threat of ley line shifts. The Paravin’s are similarly threatening to withhold access to the sea realms they control. We would not normally expect this sort of move outside of an election cycle, but the President of the Aetheric Federation is feeling the pressure, and it is starting to filter down into the Institutes.”
“It’s suspicious that we just so happen to have two of their prodigal children in our Institute,” Jo said with a tinge of heat.
“I am aware, Jo. Continue to keep an eye on them and report any incidents to me. Especially should they involve any of the legacy children or Theo. We may have to consider shifting him should the pressure continue, though no doubt that will only delay the inevitable.”
“We should not give in to the pressure of corporate thugs Grant.”
“Jo, you have my utmost respect, but don’t tell me how to do my job.” Thankfully he could not see her blush at the reprimand.
“Of course, Grant, I am sorry. The whole mess just frustrates me.”
“The feeling is mutual. Besides, this goes above my head, so I am as powerless as you are to do anything about it. We can only plan contingencies to manage the fall out. Prepare Theo as best you can. I trust your instincts about the boy, but from my reading of the situation, the President is unwilling to grant further concessions.”
“It would be a shame if we had to shift him, he has only just started to settle, and I fear disrupting the relationships he has started to form may be detrimental to his mental health.”
“Then shift the whole group of them. This falls to you, I will approve whatever you decide is best.”
“One of his friends is the Gallagher boy.” Jo replied.
“Gods damn it!” Simson cursed. “His father is being a right prick as well. Whatever it takes Jo. Given the threats, we are moving up the neural implants. For now, I cannot do anything directly. Should you find something concrete, then tell me immediately. Until then, I trust you will do what is needed.”
“Of course, Grant.”
Pulsing Aether – Josephine Warren – Tier 4 – Siren – Buff/ De-buff (channelled)
Sends out pulses of aether that reflects hidden energetic systems. Prevents skill disruption (2% aether cost per second).
Tier 2 – can be used to target enemies, disrupting skill formation
Tier 3 – Pulses now also detect non-living aether constructs (cost reduction 2% > 1% per second)
Tier 4 – can be infused with a specific affinity for variable results
