Mistfall, a solemn location of swords and spirits, where an ancient battle happened.

  And there we are, ughing as we joked about poems.

  "Oh! This one I pced some time ago.Burrrp"

  "Is the burp necessary?"

  Master Doran replied with one statement.

  "Look! See here? I included it. Now just listen."

  "I can't read Ionian, so I'll just believe you."

  "BurrrpA swig of wine,Some spice on rice cakes,The petals fall like snow"

  Pffft*

  I held myself back from ughing, but it still escaped me. Wiping away nonexistent tears, I poked holes at his poem.

  "Spice on rice cakes? All you do is pour wine on it!"

  "Hmph, what do you know about wine, brat? This."

  He shook his ever present fsk, then took a swig before continuing.

  "This is medicinal wine! It has spices, so I am indeed spicing my rice cakes. Heehee."

  "When's the petals going to fall like snow? The mountains look really green."

  "Just a few more days until the first bloom. Let us hurry! The spirits don't like it when we dally too much."

  Back to business. We quickly stuck the swords into the ground like we were pnting seedlings.

  The giant broken swords in the center were really intimidating.

  "See that one? The one with the smooth cut. When I came here with Master Yi a couple seasons ago, when he was, hmm, around your age. He cut that smooth cut with a scabbard."

  "What's a scabbard?"

  "The thing you put swords in to keep."

  The ground shifted again, as I was dragged off into a dream. This time, I was straight away in another's body. The chest... felt slightly heavier. Something twitched above my head as I involuntarily started making actions.

  My arms raised up, as gigantic golden armored foes charged towards us with swords. It, was fascinating. The movement of the body synchronized with, something. The hands smmed down onto the earth.

  What was the result?

  A long craggy line stretched forwards through the ground, before bursting sideways, forming a deep fissure in front.

  I can do better.

  I was pulled out to the side as the surroundings turned into mist. The spirit bastard stood there with arms crossed, features shrouded as well. It spoke in exasperation.

  "Of course you can do better! Spirit magic sometimes draws upon mages like yourself."

  "What's spirit magic?"

  "I shall overlook your past transgressions on account of your ignorance."

  A free info session about spirit magic that no one in Wuju vilge told me about? Sweet.

  "Spirit magic uses spirits. Whether it is mimicking one, borrowing powers, or being a spirit themselves. Done."

  I looked at this indistinct spirit incredulously.

  "What do you mean done?"

  "Done means done. Why should I tell all of the secrets to an outsider?"

  Makes sense. Can I learn spirit magic? Nah, it's weaker than my own magic. But how convenient would it be if I can use a little spark to start a fire, or grab a cup of fresh water.

  Why do I keep sinking? Maybe it's because I'm used to it...

  I was still standing before the giant sword. It's quite a nasty method to drag people into a dream. Give someone the feeling of a sharp pebble in their shoe, and when they bend over to shake it out? Knock em in the back of their head.

  Shaking my head to rid itself of the weird feeling, I returned back to Master Doran's side. He just finished setting up some red string around the perimeter, before solemnly sprinkling salt and pstering his poems all over.

  What was even the use? He called out after finishing his ceremony.

  "Let's go back."

  "That was what the spirit showed me. I don't know any more than that."

  "So the seal needs to be strengthened more. If it is truly inevitable, we should send more of our kids to the Pcidium."

  The rest of the meeting was a blur. It was extremely boring, as I just kneaded a handful of stone.

  At long st, the meeting was finished as the elders started to stretch and move out of the pavillon, gossiping as they went. Leaning back, the cold ground met me as I sank into it.

  "Young Aerth let us look at our spoils this time!"

  Master Doran eagerly rubbed his hands as he brought out the blood red stones. Using my hands, I separated a thin sliver of it.

  Burning, bashing, soaking, tossing, bending.

  In the end, under his discretion, we decided on making a staff. A demon subduing staff (untested). All on the hunch that since it used some of the tainted sealing stones, it can still seal evil spirits.

  According to Master Doran, the unknown taint was from an unnamed god sealed deep inside Mistfall. With the difference in the natural order, and the sealing stones, it would become something just as strong as the sealing bdes used by the Kinkou Order.

  I, on the the other hand, believed that it can only hit evil spirits, not seal them.

  "I told you, Akana is different from Azakana. It is big demon compared to small demon."

  "You never told me about it before."

  "Oh."

  After quickly forming a long stick, I sanded it down until it became even. The red stick was my job, while Master Doran hammered away at some gold, sprinkling weird ashes on it and etching patterns on it.

  Slinging the stock over my shoulder, I set off to the bamboo forest. One swing at a thick bamboo log dented it slightly. Another one broke the stick in two.

  I was expecting failure, but how was it this soon?! I barely swung it! It was still unworthy of being called a staff.

  Focusing, I felt the inside of the stick. What did I expect? Hairline cracks spread throughout the whole thing, other than one pce. The pce where it hit the bamboo. It made no sense, so I fixed it and did it again, hitting it in a different location.

  It... it worked again? Disbelief clouded my mind.

  It must be a fluke. Fixing it again, I hit it on the bamboo over and over again.

  The sky suddenly turned dark. At some point, I had skipped lunch and went straight to dinner. The staff was covered in splotches of strong parts surrounded with the weak parts.

  lirvothethird