Chapter 4: Arcana

Lei looked at Xiang confused. "Xiang, why is my life about to get difficult?" "Has anyone told you what arcana is?" Lei shook his head and at that Xiang continued, "Arcana is what you, as an arcane cultivator, control. It is the energy that your soul is most attuned to. Arcana is not a natural energy. It is created when two sentient beings are in conflict. This means that in order for you to cultivate you need to constantly be near or involved in conflict. I assume you have yet to open your dantian and meridians. So you won't understand what I mean when I say in order to replenish your dantian you will need conflict. Once you learn your first cultivation technique you'll understand what I mean." Lei mulled over her words before asking, "You have quite an understanding of cultivation. Have you started to cultivate?" Xiang nodded and said, "As a royal child I started to cultivate on my tenth birthday. Far earlier than the public because of this I have already reached the authoritarian stage." "Why are royal children allowed to start cultivating before the peasant children?" Lei asked. "The royal family thinks that children shouldn't be allowed to possess combat abilities because they could be a danger to society. Because I was a royal child there was always someone making sure I wouldn't cause trouble while being able to defend myself if I ran into any trouble from my father's enemies." Lei nodded, understanding the rationale. "Xiang, I still don't understand how this will make my life difficult." Xiang thought for a bit before saying, "In order for you to become powerful you will always have to fight. You will never be able to cultivate just through sensing and harvesting the natural aura of the other affinities. In order to generate qi you will need to harvest an energy that only manifests through conflict. This means your life will always be in danger. However, cultivating arcana increases your cultivation speed compared to other affinities and you will be one of the most powerful cultivators alive."

Lei looked out of the carriage mulling over what he had just heard. He would always have to fight someone if he wanted to get stronger. This bothered Lei as he had always been more of a pacifist than a fighter. He sighed as he continued staring. It seemed like he would have to find a way to overcome his pacifist attitude and enjoy conflict. Finally Lei was broken out of his reverie by Xiang saying, "We are crossing the border into the Ye kingdom. Welcome to my home." Lei who was still looking out the window noticed that there was nothing to demarcate the border, confused he asked, "Xiang, there is no physical way to demarcate the border. How did you know we were entering the Ye kingdom?" "There was a formation that you can only sense once you open your spiritual sense which happens at the same time your dantian and meridians are unlocked." Lei nodded. He had heard of formations before. They were essentially many tiny scripts connected in series to form one major script that performed a specific purpose. 

Lei looked at Xiang and asked, "Xiang, how long will the rest of our journey be?" "We should have two more nights at a pair of royal inns and then we should reach the royal court on the third day." Lei suddenly thought of another question, "Will I have to address you as Princess when we reach the court." "Like I said I don't care much for royal protocol but the rest of the court certainly will so it's probably best if you do, if we're in public that is. But I believe that once you are introduced as an arcane cultivator most of the court would consider me your equal. In that case you could then call me Xiang." 

The time passed slowly and soon the carriage arrived at the next inn. Once again they were shown to their rooms. This time Lei was shocked to see that the rooms were more opulent than before. He now had a whole suite to himself including a living room, library, bedroom and bathroom. The thing that excited him the most was the library. Lei had always been an avid reader and had been considered intelligent by his peers. Lei entered the library and was shocked by the amount of books he saw. He found one that caught his eye and started reading. 

Lei woke up on a couch in the library. He looked out the window and saw that it was dark outside. He wondered what had woken him when he heard a slight knock on the door. Gathering himself he walked towards the door and pulled it open. Xiang stood there with a smile on her face. "Lei, have you ever seen a water spirit?" Lei, taken aback by the question, shook his head. "Well let's go then!" Xiang grabbed his arm and pulled down the stairs and out the inn to a small pond near the entrance. As she dragged him Lei realised how much stronger and faster she was than him; a side effect of her high cultivation base. When they reached the pond Lei saw a strange blue shining light shaped like a dragon in the water. Xiang looked at him, gauging his reaction and then said, "This is Li she purifies the water they use up in the inn. Isn't she beautiful?" Lei nodded and they stood there staring at the water before Xiang spoke again, "Sometimes I wish I could stay here instead of being at the court and having to act like a royal." Lei started to speak when she said, "It's getting late, we need to be up early tomorrow morning. Let's head back." They made their ways back to their rooms. Lei fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.