Obvious, yet hidden
Arthur smiled gently as he watched Dagen get pulled away from Kristof, the latter's face bashed in to the point where one couldn't tell whether he was dead or alive.
The fight between the two of them was the first that either had ever experienced before. Something where their desire to kill transcends their pain, or any specific feeling in their body.
Dagen and Kristof both were quite talented Fae Masters, in that despite being mortal, their resolve and their desires to become strong had exceeded what it should've normally been for someone of their heritage.
Neither of them had Fae Master parents, and until recently both of them didn't even know that they were going to become Fae Masters.
Being able to have such a strong will so early was great for Fae Masters. Perhaps, if nothing happened in the future, both would be able to become Elders for the Clan. They would be able to change the fates and the structure of the Kovacs Clan for the better and strengthen the Village as a whole.
Both Dagen and Kristof were sent to different parts of the medical tent for healing. Kristof obviously had the more serious injuries, however Dagen had his nose broken in three different places. It was practically leaking blood right now.
Arthur glanced at Henrik, who had been completely healed, sitting down in the participants booth. He had his eyes placed on Dagen's figure, his eyes narrowed and his gaze stern.
Nyssa too had left the medical tent after getting her face healed, and glared at Henrik angrily before turning towards Arthur up in the stands, her eyes slightly teary as a wave of disappointment washed over her.
She was supposed to win the Tournament and Arthur's favour at the same time. Even though he had spent so much time teaching her and guiding her in her cultivation and Fae knowledge, she had let him down and lost to Henrik.
Nyssa knew that Henrik also received some of Arthur's knowledge but couldn't help and blame herself for her own shortcomings. The third young master of the Kovacs Clan was a powerful, inspiring figure to the rest of the young generation.
Only being exceeded by Dominic who had the support of every generation between him and Arthur. Even then, he was still wildly popular with the mortal Villagers, although Arthur was as well to some degree.
If this were a larger Clan, with Rank 5 Fae Masters then perhaps a competition between the descendents of the Clan Leader would be held in order to ascertain just who was the most suitable to become the next Clan Leader.
This Kovacs Clan, and many of the other smaller Clans weren't as internally competitive, believing that quantity trumps quality. Their strongest member was only a Rank 4 Fae Master who had yet to fully grasp a Transformation Attributed Control Skill.
Some had come to realize that the power of a single Fae Master could defeat a beast king single handily and knew that personal strength triumphed over total strength. Large Clans and even some Sects nurtured these talented individuals to become swords for the Sect, to aim and kill anyone who tried to attack it.
The vast majority of Fae Masters in this world was Rank 3 and below. While Rank 4 and Rank 5 Fae Masters made up a smaller denomination.
A Rank 5 Fae Master, or even a Rank 4 Fae Master who had comprehended a Law was worth more than the entirety of the Kovacs Clan. In terms of battle strength, depending on what Law, it was completely possible for them to be able to annihilate the entirety of Parachenko Village.
Resources within Sects wasn't unlimited. And competition was the easiest way to make the majority feel as though they earned these rewards, while placating the losers with the notion of "next time".
Nepotism was pretty common within Clans, but Sects needed to be a little more law abiding if they wanted talented members to join them. Large Clans usually only accepted disciples with the same blood as them, or disciples that had married into the Clan.
It strengthened their bloodline and created a sense of "us" or "them" within their descendents.
In fact, Clans had a higher sense of belonging than Sects ever had. Since it was only possible for Fae Masters to awaken their Fae Master talents at the age of fifteen, all Fae Masters needed to grow within a family setting before they became of age.
Grooming orphans or young children was time wasting, and the spirit plants should go to better use than to increase the number of new disciples they could have.
Both Sects and Clans had their strengths and weaknesses, but at the end of the day, Fae Master Clans and Fae Master Sects had nothing in the face of Immortal Clans and Immortal Sects.
It was like comparing a firefly to the light of the sun.
Once a Rank 5 Fae Master underwent ascension they would be released from their mortal coil and transcend the limits of their Race while becoming one with the heavens and the earth. Their Minds would expand, seemingly infinitely as they became fully awakened to the Laws and heavenly restrictions around them.
Their Bodies would become tougher than the strongest of ores and precious gems. The blow of a Rank 6 Fae Immortal could kill a Rank 5 Fae Master so long as their wasn't any Fae used. While the Soul of a Rank 6 Fae Immortal would become enlightened, splitting off from the main body and forming an existence that is only seen within Fae Immortals.
They could easily form Intent. Create Bloodlines with their Fae. Comprehend Laws more easily and create things that nothing other than they could create.
It seemed obscure, but unless one was a Fae Immortal, Arthur didn't quite know how to explain it.
There existed a natural boundary between Fae Masters and Fae Immortals. A gap in perception, or a way of thinking that just naturally clicked as they underwent ascension. Failing to grasp this "method of thought" meant that a person couldn't ascend and become a Fae Immortal.
It remined Arthur, and quite a number of Fae Immortals of a small passage within the
It went:
"The size of emotions, and wills, and desires, is only limited by the form of a person. Love, hatred, envy, greed, happiness and everything else in-between is shaped by our minds and by what the mind of a mortal can comprehend.
The same could be said for physical expressions, such as beauty, art, paintings and Physiques. They all exist within the physical world, and everything can be touched an examined by the five senses.
The Soul on the other hand, is the biggest difference between you and I. I can examine the nature of the Soul, while you on the other hand, can only use your mortal mind to try and comprehend such a thing. You use words, language and art in order to depict that which you cannot understand, but I on the other hand can see the very nature of your Soul.
And it Father.... is a truly ugly thing".
Luminous Golden Light said that to the First Man later in the
For quite a while, Arthur sat silently, slowly comprehending just what those words meant. In this life, and in this time, perhaps he would come to a different conclusion on the nature of the Soul, and its relationship with the Mind and Body.
After all, its not as though just anyone can possess one of the Sovereign Boundary Physiques, now is it?