Climbing up the first hundred meters of the spire was relatively easy, and even when it became nearly vertical John had plenty of techniques to handle the difficulties. It was kind of cheating since he’d already seen everyone else either succeed or fail, but in this sort of event it was best to have a crescendo at the end, reaching the highest points. In this case, that would be literally.
John kept pace with Akkat, not because he couldn’t outdo the other man but because he didn’t see a need to rush things. Even with his cycle of elements he did have limits to his spiritual energy, so a steady pace that wouldn’t tire him too quickly was optimal.
Forming handholds was allowable, but John actually found that to be more energy intensive than simply sticking himself to the outer surface of the ice. It was interesting to consider how ice could be one of the slickest things or the most ‘sticky’ with only slight changes in circumstances.
The large quantities of water he was carrying with him were the biggest drain, but he spit the load between various elements. Earth to keep the layer of ice solid and wind to lighten the burden of the whole thing. John knew he could just fly, but part of the whole challenge was to leave his mark along the spire itself as he climbed. The extremely limited gaseous water John had was put to use along the way, adding small amounts of material to smooth out troublesome patches. John also did a bit of reshaping to the odd lump, while making sure to keep the material at more or less the same height to respect the work of those who came before.
Akkat seemed like a reasonable fellow, but John could tell he had a bit of a competitive streak. The ice cultivator climbed with determination, working hard to try to outpace John, which he allowed only briefly during certain stretches. When the other cultivator got a lead, he tended to slow down… and John slowly increased his pace to close the gap. If this whole exercise was about improvement, he couldn’t make things too easy.
Soon the winds picked up, a troublesome issue for water cultivators. Akkat seemed to only be able to directly resist the wind, and with his profile greatly widened by the package of ice and water he carried around himself and on his back the wind had more of him to rip and tear at. That meant making better handholds or otherwise keeping a more firm grip.
John felt the wind too, but it wasn’t anything compared to Abbritt’s windstorms. He could easily deflect it away from himself, and the spire in general. He could have let it circle around the spire, but even if they weren’t climbing together that didn’t mean he was going to hinder his fellow climber.
They soon reached the last hundred meters or so, where the spire began to rapidly narrow into a spike that Akkat could reach his arms around- and did. Using his arms on one side and his feet on the other, he actually increased his pace quite significantly, not letting the slick surface hold him back. Akkat actually reached the top of the spire about ten meters ahead of John, and quickly began to deposit his package of water element, extending the spire upward and outward.
He focused too much on expanding upward, however, and didn’t pay enough mind to stability. As he placed the last of his package, the ice- even when it was up to half a meter thick- cracked. Akkat was still holding onto the peak of the spire as it tipped, bringing him several meters away from the center- a distance that was rapidly increasing.
In perfect form, the man could have likely formed bonds at the base of the cracking section, but he’d put much of his effort into the last burst. With the strong point of the spire, he could easily fall a hundred meters or more before having anything to catch himself.
John wondered if he would resent being caught. It was possible… but there was a better method that fit the spirit of the exercise just fine. He rapidly unfolded his ice and water, pushing it into the crack just above him and sealing it to both sides, calling upon his various spiritual elements to strengthen the material and rapidly freeze those parts that were liquid. The tip of the spire jerked to a stop when it was horizontal, Akkat maintaining his grip with what remained of his spiritual energy.
At that point John began to reshape the spire, straightening the tip above him while forming a new segment in between the main spire and the broken point. Thus he completed the goal of adding to the spire while happenstantially bringing Akkat into a more conveniently oriented position.
John was tempted to just jump down at that point, but instead he began to climb back down. He felt extremely light without several hundred kilos of ice and water, which was unsurprising. He’d used up a good portion of his spiritual energy, and that last burst had pushed him beyond the total amount Akkat had used. Technically, he hadn’t reached the highest point- but he didn’t care. He was sure that his disciples would understand, and he didn’t intend to make a big deal of anything.
If Akkat wanted to mention it, that would be his choice. The other man had seemed like he wanted to say something, but now John was far enough he would have to shout and it would be awkward. So he just began to climb back down. Fortunately for him, things got easier, so even as he was getting extremely low on spiritual energy, he could absorb enough water element from the surroundings to keep him going- and he likely was even recovering on the last hundred meters, approximately the bottom third of the spire.
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John reached the bottom first, and was prepared when Akkat arrived. He took the initiative to speak. “The Lone Spire’s work here is impressive, and we are grateful for the opportunity to contribute, and to face a worthy challenge.”
Whatever else Akkat have wished to say, with such an opening there was more or less only one way to respond. “As a representative of the Lone Spire, we were glad to have you and your disciples experience the challenge along with us.”
“We must continue our journey into calmer climates,” John said. “We will need to find somewhere to rest for the night.” From what John understood, the disciples of the Lone Spire lived somewhere nearby in a secret location. As for the true level of secrecy, John didn’t know, but he didn’t wish to push to stay with them regardless of whether Akkat felt grateful or mortified.
“Good fortune on your journey,” Akkat said. If he had offered for them to stay, John would have accepted… but departing might be the easiest for the moment.
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Just like descending the spire, descending the far side of the Frozen Heights was generally easier. It wasn’t exactly trivial even with the chosen pass, but that was why it was an appropriate part of a training journey. Those who were stronger took on more of the burden for those with lower cultivations. John himself was quite happy to be done with the mountains when they got out of them, even if they hadn’t met with many sects.
A peaceful interaction with a relatively unvisited region was a good enough start, and hopefully they would see more people from there at the next friendly tournament. Cultivators couldn’t help but challenge each other, and growing more in tune with their elements was a worthwhile goal, but John preferred it be done without people actually trying to kill each other. They did need to remain ready for those who would, however.
Their descent brought the expedition onto the border of the Rolling Dunes and Muted Crags. There had previously been a conflict between the latter and the Phoenix Forest, but it had been long enough for tensions to settle somewhat- though John certainly didn’t intend to stop by the Black Peaks. They might not appreciate how he reshaped their topography, and it hadn’t been that long.
Still, he hoped to make peaceful contact with another portion of the region. He planned a route that would angle northward before curving back around into the Rolling Dunes, continuing due west into the Boiling Springs.
Before any of that, however, they would be taking a rest in the more peaceful area. The Muted Crags had their own dangers, but the environment itself wasn’t constantly oppressing the inhabitants. Even water element cultivators had to protect themselves from the cold. Permanent structures would help, but without the right contacts they’d been stuck with camping in whatever shelter they could make.
Everyone also needed some time to digest their insights before moving onto another elemental region. Even those that didn’t cultivate the water element had lessons to learn about dealing with it. That was something the Six Elements Crossroads strongly promoted. Mastery of your own element was all well and good- but it wasn’t true mastery if you could only deal with one element against that same element at optimum levels.
-----
The Muted Crags were calm. That was their very nature, limiting sensation of all sorts. In some ways it could be considered oppressive, but darkness had its purposes. There was a reason most people slept in the dark- a lack of sensation was relaxing in appropriate circumstances.
Darkness had been a familiar friend to John ever since his arrival in this world, in some cases literally with Ciaritzal. It was a useful part of all of his interactions, the first element he’d ever attuned to- twice, even. Though the first time was in the memories of another person.
Personally, John found the Muted Crags much more relaxing when there weren’t armies waiting along the way, preparing to ambush him at every step. There wasn’t exactly a large amount of wildlife to appreciate, and plants were quite sparse, but it wasn’t as barren as the Gloom Desolation. It was simply a rocky area, but the few patches of fertile soil were brimming with native life.
Not that it was always easy to spot them with reduced senses- even energy senses- and the fact that anything in the area was all darkness aligned and thus inclined to hide. There were a few grabbing vines that might be dangerous to lone travelers, but to a group of their size they didn’t have to deal with frequent wildlife or other risks.
Soon enough they found themselves on a proper road, on which they occasionally encountered passersby. Nobody showed hostility, at least not openly, and more than a few were quite friendly- beyond the standard respect for passing cultivators, of course.
John’s maps showed that they should be approaching Urdcliffe, a city of lesser influence than the Black Peaks but an important part of the Muted Crags still. They’d even gained some influence after the incidents, though it hadn’t yet been long enough to see where the balance of power would end up.
Most likely, John’s presence would end up shifting that balance somewhat, at least in minor ways. He didn’t intend to overturn their way of life, but he wanted to connect all of those he could to the rest of the continent. Even if groups refused to be part of an alliance, having proper peaceful interactions would be a good step up from how things had been when he first came to the world. It hadn’t been one of constant war, but it was still possible that it would break out at any time for any reason.
Now, John would be surprised if there was a war from within the known regions. There could still be trouble from the Molten Sea or beyond, but the Sky Islands were firmly in a place of peace with Morana dealt with. Abritt had personal and political power, but not enough to override the other peaks, especially with the loss of her lackey. Besides, even she didn’t have a good reason for war- she just had a general disdain for continentals.
There might be more trouble like the Stormy Sea Sect, though if their alliance became known outside the continent then groups like that would be more hesitant to engage in hostilities. That was why they had responded so aggressively the first time.
John hoped that the Muted Crags, covering much of the northern border of the continent, could be brought into a position that was closer than merely being another neighboring region. Though it might take effort to sort through local politics and old grudges.
