Red Hawk

Chapter Fourteen: The Spark Ignites

Fog filled the early morning air, Leon having dragged Kai from bed before sunrise. The two of them climbed atop a rolling hillside not far from the village, Kai now accepting training from his father. Today's lesson was one he never wanted until now. Magic. For some reason, meeting the other Kai had motivated him to start training in this art. The thought popping up sporadically during dinner the night before. And afterwards, his dreams had been filled to the brim with some of the old Kai's adventures.

Unlike himself, the old Kai seemed to be physically weaker. Using magic as his primary form of combat.

Bathed in the glow of the early sun, Kai had been instructed to start off with a simple task. Breathing exercises. Leon commanding how Kai was to fluctuate his breathing. In and out. Short inhales, long exhales. Holding his deep breaths. Keeping his lungs empty for extended periods. This was done for an extended period, and then he was instructed to move.

Slow movements, letting his body flow with his breath. To move like the river, allowing his entire body to relax, or swaying stiff like a tree. Just as he was to change his breathing, he was to change his movements. It irritated him, as he saw no point in this. Leon let out a sigh, "Just like nature, the energy within our body is always changing, forever in a cycle. So, in cycling our physical habits, it makes it easier to grasp onto the ever changing spiritual."

Kai didn't quite get it, but he continued to do as instructed. He began to wonder if everyone learned magic in this way, or if this was just how his father had been trained. And while at first it seemed pointless, he started to change his mind as his stomach turned. But not in a sickly way. It was as if something were alive in there. Twisting and turning, trying to claw out. An image flashed in his head, too quick to see. But burned into his mind were the colors of red and orange. This affected the twisting in his stomach. He could feel a familiarity in it as it spread.

Part of it felt like his father, the other part like himself. But not the himself he knew, the other himself. That himself.

The power of Leon and the other Kai flowed through his body, almost as if it were alive. This felt different from his Chi. Aura he thought as he continued his motion exercises. With each moment of his body, it seemed as if the energies within him increased. The two of them trying to meld together with his own. Over time, as his breathing fluxed on its own, the difference in the energies faded. The twisting in his stomach was now gone. But he could still feel the ever flowing energy as it motioned its way through his body. Tracing its way through his circulatory system. Infusing itself with his blood as well as his breathing.

Now there was a different feeling. Not sickly, but a burning sensation. Rising higher with each passing moment. His flesh, his veins, everything felt as if it were about to burst into flame.

Have I built up too much energy? he considered the possibility. To help siphon off some of the energy, Kai began to focus his Chi. Gathering it around his body before expelling it outward. Hoping that this would reduce the buildup, and allowing his body to return to its normal state. In doing this he had crafted a barrier. Not even the breeze was able to brush against his skin. Memories from the other Kai flashed within our Kai's mind once again.

Just as he was now, that Kai had been expelling his energy into the outside world. But he could tell this was different. He wasn't sure how, but he knew the other Kai's body had not suffered this growing heat. As the images played on, he realized the other Kai's body embraced the breeze, unlike his own which had blocked it off. Then, that Kai moved.

He had vivid memories of manipulating the wind. Sharpening it, using it as a weapon. Our Kai had no such luck. The wind was not at his command. Not even a breeze as faint as a breath could roll from his fingertips. A breeze he would surely welcome at this moment. Or an icy rain, whatever it took to spare him of this discomfort. Surely even the pig from the night before would have sympathy for him.