Truthful Transmigration

Several minutes of silence was hardly a change from normal interactions with Ereli, the silence was simply more complete when she was engaging with the sea of spiritual totems. As John predicted, she returned after a short period of time. She wasn’t pushing herself, but given her circumstances John didn’t think that was something to criticize herself for.

“I couldn’t find it,” Ereli reported about the totem he’d had her searching for.

“Is that so?” John nodded. “Perhaps you will find it later.”

The difficulty of searching for particular totems could vary significantly even within their own layer. More obscure ones were of course more difficult to seek out, but there were personal affinities as well that had some effect. Perhaps Ereli wasn’t suited for the particular totems, or she subconsciously rejected them. That could be a sign she was unsuited, or a lack of confidence or any number of other things.

Rather than being concerned about her progress, John chose to focus on what was working. She was clearly less stressed about her own balance of elements throughout her day-to-day life, and that was a good thing. John believed a proper totem could help settle things for her even further, but he also didn’t need to push her to do anything immediately. He was able to diagnose how she responded on the surface, but there could always be things she wasn’t willing or able to share.

The Tenebach clan was filled with darkness, but both she and her father were still able to cultivate properly. At the moment, her parents were still a better source of advice for her personal cultivation. They might have already discovered the same things John had, but either way he would share the information with them so they could do with it what made sense to them. It wasn’t his job to come in and drastically change Ereli’s path in just a couple weeks.

-----

The funeral for Luctus filled John with melancholy, but either because he was becoming used to such events- which he really hoped wasn’t true- or because he had longer to prepare himself, he wasn’t swept over by emotion. Many of those gathered, including Ciaritzal, said a few words about the man. John did as well, but he could hardly remember any specifics, even about what he himself said. Everything he’d actually needed to say had already been said. At least he had that chance this time, instead of things being cut off abruptly.

-----

After the funeral John took some time with Nik and Melanthina to explain what he’d learned about Ereli. “She clearly has some talent, but she’s afraid to push herself. That fear might be justified… but it could also be remnants of when she was weaker and had little control.” He looked over the two of them. “She doesn’t want to get hurt and see you sad.”

Nik smiled sadly. “I would hope that she would focus on her own pain more. It’s clearly still one of her concerns, but placing us above herself…”

“That’s family,” Melanthina said. “It’s not a bad trait at all. It just complicates things for us.” She pondered for a few moments. “I believe we shall focus more on pushing herself safely. In addition, better managing our own reactions when she breaks down might help her.”

“That’s what I was thinking,” John said. “Though it doesn’t sound great to say it, your own reactions are making things more difficult for her. At least, that is one factor. Her balance is more active than natural. A totem could help but… she’d have to have the confidence to find and choose one. Until then… how does she do when she sleeps?”

“Her room is kept free of extraneous spiritual energy,” Nik explained. “As long as her balance is correct when she sleeps, she has no problems. And we’re nearby if she needs help.”

John recalled a few things from the past, both his more recent experiences and his old world. “What I am going to say may sound harsh… but it’s possible that you protecting her will hurt her. And though she might suffer some pain it might ultimately be better to let her resolve future incidents alone. I know that’s not an easy thing to hear or do, of course,” John admitted. “But if she expects to be rescued and being rescued also brings her more emotional pain, it could lead to a negative cycle.”

“It’s not as easy as you make it out,” Melanthina said. “If we just have to let something happen…”

“That’s right, it’s not easy. But you don’t actually have to stand by and do nothing. It will probably be even harder to watch secretly without doing anything, but I’m also not asking you to actually leave her to her own devices.”

Nik nodded. “We need to let her learn that she can recover from a negative spiral on her own. She’s old enough now.” He sighed, “How did you handle it?”

“Ursel and Melanthina were constantly getting into trouble,” John said, looking towards the latter. “Letting the two of you suffer the consequences of your actions was the only way for your mother and I to keep sane. Of course, we still sheltered you from some of it. That said, you triplets were self-balanced in terms of spiritual energy. Single elements meant even your infusions in early life were still safe enough. You might need to let Ereli develop at a slower rate, and frankly even if it takes her ten more years to reach her first totem she won’t exactly be slow.”

“She might be upset about falling behind Nitza,” Melanthina pointed out. “She looks up to her cousin.”

“I think you’ll have to remind her that Nitza is several years older. Even if Ereli was born with an infusion of energy, that still matters. It might even get to the point where they have to not see each other for a few years…” John shook his head. “But that is something you’d have to carefully consider.”

“We understand,” Nik said. “If we can get Ereli to push herself just a bit, she might be able to find and secure a totem that will make everything easier. I think we knew some of that already but… putting it together isn’t always easy.”

“I don’t think easy was what the two of you signed up for,” John pointed out, looking at the paired light and darkness cultivators. “Though it still seems quite far away, I’d also be thinking about the next tournament. We can hope that she binds a totem before then, but it might take more than a few years for her to get on that path. I imagine Nitza will be close to the Foundation Phase, if she has not reached it by then. It could be inspiring, or it could be demoralizing. Likewise, pushing herself to try to win official matches might be good… or it might not.” John shook his head. “That’s something you’ll have to decide.”

-----

Though John was the sect head of the Six Elements Crossroads who was organizing the tournament, he was only involved in very little of that himself. At least as far as the actual tournament was concerned. Seeing the rise of the Six Elements Crossroads and other prominent sects, people from all over were interested in the event for reasons beyond simply wishing to win prizes and glory.

Since those prizes had to come from somewhere, it was quite understandable. The sects were the ones funding the tournament, so expecting a direct profit would be rather short sighted. That said, the greater volume of people in Lunson brought more trade for everyone involved. People didn’t have to go far and wide to find exotic goods they needed, and even though prices were high most people found it worthwhile.

Aside from an economic surge, however, the gain from the tournament was more focused on something else- connections. Whether those were for trading partnerships or future training opportunities, that was the main goal of the tournaments. Bringing people together, and despite it being a battle tournament the intent was not violence but unity.

So far, John found that goal was at least largely functional, though there had been some clashes in the streets that the security forces had to deal with. But beyond that, most of John’s time was spent meeting with various groups. Those he already had established connections with to strengthen those connections and let them know he hadn’t forgotten, and those who were newer to establish such connections.

John made sure to monitor the political landscape, and while all forms of human interactions tended to develop competing factions, he was pleased to see that his efforts to minimize such factionalism were working. Or perhaps he was simply not seeing something beneath the surface. John had to admit his own fallibility, and he was responsible for making a sort of core faction from his earliest allies.

Still, any effort to have a unified region was better than simply coasting along and hoping that nobody got into any wars with their neighbors. That had clearly not worked out well, and it was a miracle that civilization survived at all in a world full of cultivators. Perhaps untamed wilderness between various sections was the main factor that kept society intact, as it limited how often people were actually willing to match to war as an aggressor.

-----

John did not participate in the tournament himself, neither did Viriato or Raul who were the strongest members of the Six Elements Crossroads. That was half their personal preference and partially public policy. The disciples of the Six Elements Crossroads were able to participate for their own personal experience, but not showing bias was important as well. Most importantly, referees had to come from a different sect than any participants. It wasn’t perfect, but John understood nothing was. Even if cultivation was striving for perfection, actually reaching it was something else.

-----

Ultimately, Ereli had wanted to participate in the tournament and her parents thought it would be beneficial. She was still quite young, as she hadn’t even been born before the last tournament. At less than ten years old, there weren’t many appropriate opponents. Very few slots existed for totemless individuals in the Spiritual Collection Phase, but there were always new cultivators who wanted to test themselves.

While they most likely had the weakest control, the battles were likely the safest. The tournament grounds could prevent any significant injuries with their enchantments, and they were extremely effective where the cultivators were weaker.

Ereli was matched against a woman almost twice her age- but beginning cultivation in early adulthood was not rare. Dinara was a member of the Combining Luster Sect which now had a direct connection to the Tenebach clan through Nik. While he had fully given up his membership in the sect, they were still on good terms.

The match began with Dinara focusing a beam of light through her crystal tipped weapon, a decisive attack that would have been difficult for many cultivators to deal with. However, Ereli stood strong. Her back straight, she didn’t even make a motion to deflect the light around her, bouncing it off of her own light element.

Then she responded with her own attack, throwing a dagger wrapped in darkness. John recognized the throwing technique, though he shouldn’t have been surprised. She was part of the Tenebach clan, after all, with access to the same information he’d had.

Dinara threw herself to the side, understanding she couldn’t handle a clash of light and darkness. Simple techniques were all that either side could manage, circling around each other and trying to strike a proper blow. They gradually drifted closer until Dinara managed to pierce through Ereli’s defenses, the tournament barriers taking over as Ereli staggered back.

Neither side was particularly stronger than the other, nor did they display any staggering techniques. Indeed, Ereli’s mastery over her own spiritual energy might have been greater. Yet she was still timid about direct clashes, unwilling to exert herself past a certain point. Dinara seemed to have spotted that. John could see Ereli reeling in the arena, her balance of elements disturbed… but she got a handle on herself quickly enough.

Rather than the loss hurting her confidence, John thought she looked proud to face against someone older, even if she didn’t win. She would have had similar opportunities in the Tenebach clan, but she couldn’t really expect them to fight properly against the young mistress. Of course, John could find himself misinterpreting things and he would check on her and her parents when the time was right.