System Break

"Breathe and move in harmony, like a dance," Mother said as I ballsed it up for the third time.

"Watch me," she said patiently. She leapt, turned, skipped and spun. Now that she mentioned it, it was like a dance. Her arms flowed gracefully and gave her balance. "The form mimics qi as it flows through the forest."

"Can you see qi?"

She shook her head, "I can sense qi, only one before could see the qi flow. You will be gifted greatly if you can sense it."

"What if I can see it, does that mean anything?"

Mother was much smaller than me, but her inner strength made her seem much larger. Her colouring was much deeper than Gisael's, the tones of brown and green made her seem exotic. No one would mistake her for human, she was clearly alien. Her sharp eyes evaluated me once again.

"Form. No more questions," she instructed.

I began the dance once again. I closed my eyes and imagined her movements rather than trying to force myself into them, I felt them. Skip, turn, jump, run, stop and bend.

"Good, you have a feel for this. You learn quickly." She paused for a second and said, "Again."

I was always a quick learner when it came to sports and in the army too. I remembered my coach telling me I was a natural after a hard-fought win, it was one of the few memories I cherished from my childhood.

My eyes were still closed as my mind wandered and I practised the form. There was nothing to bump into in the wide-open space and I could sense the edge and willow easily.

"Stop." Mother called. "What form are you doing? I have not seen it before."

I opened my eyes and looked at her in confusion, "Sorry. My mind wandered, and I was just freestyling."

"Hmm," she said as she strolled across the glade. "Begin," she said finally with a gesture. She watched me as I practised as I slowly improved. After what seemed hours she called, "You tire. You rest now. Follow me." she said before she finally instructed me to sit by the willow.

"I will try something," she said. "It may speed the process, or it may do nothing, we will see."

I wondered if talking ambiguously was always her manner. She put her hand inside the tree and pulled out a tiny blue orb.

"Take this in your mouth," she said and placed it on my tongue as I obliged. "Swallow."

I did as instructed and asked, "What will this do exactly?"

"It will replenish your energy, I sense your core is almost empty. And I hope it will help you Benzhi."

"My qi core?"

"Yes, you are like a lake run dry. I want to replenish and see if your lake can become deeper."

"Thank you, mother," I said, and I meant it. I could not have survived outside the forest and she was giving without asking for anything in return. It meant a lot to me.

"Close your eyes and relax," she said. "Breathe."

I cleared my mind and waited patiently for her next instruction. She took my hands and silently meditated with me.

"Good," she said softly, "You drift. Now feel for the qi flowing from me to you."

I tried my best to be sensitive and lightly reached for the qi. I could feel nothing.

"Patience," she said softly.

I had a gut feeling to open my eyes. I looked down at her hands and I could see two tiny streams of blue flowing up her arms and onto mine where they wrapped them like a snake.

"Do you sense them?" she asked and for the first time she sounded uncertain.

"No," I said. "I see them."

She gasped and let go. Her eyes snapped open as she stood and took a step back from me. She then calmed herself and stared at me.

"Who are you?" she asked.

I looked back at her in confusion. "You know me, I'm Benzhi."

She began to pace. It unnerved me seeing that she was unnerved. "Is this a good thing?" she asked herself.

After a few minutes she addressed me formally, "I need to rest and think. You will go practise in the forest. Return at dark, this is when Gisael will travel back through the portal."

It was like I was back in the army being dismissed by a superior. "Yes Mother," I said as I stood and bowed.

I ran to the nearest tree and scampered up it. I watched the streams of qi flow through my body to my fingertips and soles of my feet. I had made massive progress thanks to Mother. If I could see tree-run, it would help me work out qi strike and qi body.

But my qi sight had unnerved her, and I did not know why. Why would an ability scare her?

I wandered the forest as I thought, picking berries and nuts as I passed them and plopping them into my mouth. As an adopted Svartalfar I did not require much food and I probably wasn't hungry at the time. I wasn't thinking of my immediate surroundings or what I was doing.

The Chinese officer and technician had told me one thing. Part of the research project was that I had to learn how to use qi. Their words exactly were qi manipulation.

I held out my spear and activated qi strike. I laughed as I finally saw the problem. A weak stream of qi stopped at my hand, my right hand only. I tried again, but this time I tried to push more qi.

I wasn't impressed with the outcome, it didn't look any different from doing nothing. But as my coach always said, nothing good comes easy.

I tried again and again. A hundred times until I felt exhausted and the sun was setting. By the end there was some progress, the streams were much stronger, and they extended up both arms. They even licked the side of the spear once or twice.

The forest would grow dark quickly as the sun set so I ran back to the glade as ordered. I felt drained from the exercise but energised from the progress. I ran back with an empty tank and high spirits.

I arrived just in time to witness the portal open and Gisael step through. I leaned against a tree and watched her look around for me. It did not take her long to sense me and stare at me as I gazed upon her.

While I admired her beauty three more Svartalfar stepped through the portal before it closed. There were two more females and I was surprised I was happy to see a male also. They all looked gorgeous, one was smaller and blonde like Gisael and the male while the other female had brown hair like Mother. They all carried bows.

I walked forward with my spear held straight. I was taller than them all, at least a head taller, which I think surprised them.

Before Gisael could speak I said loudly, "I am Benzhi."

They stared at me and my spear. They looked to Gisael who shrugged, "He is the one I told the gate keepers about."

The auburn-haired female walked towards me, inspecting me. "Do you not have a bow?" She asked with genuine curiosity. Her approach gave the others courage and they followed. They left Gisael behind who was now scowling at my interruption.

The auburn-haired Svartalfar was beautiful, and I wondered if they all were. She reached out to touch my spear and inspect it. "Daughter made this?" She asked.

"Mother," Gisael corrected. "She is Mother here."

"I introduced myself," I asked before she had a chance to apologise to Gisael.

"I am sorry," she said, "I am Talila and this is Sakaala and Ailen my apprentices."

"Yes," I replied holding the spear towards the others for them to inspect, "It was a gift from Mother."

"This is your Guardian weapon?" Talila asked.

I nodded. "Is it so different?"

Talila gave a single nod in return, "There are a few elites who use bow and blade. The rest of us use a bow." She said showing hers proudly. "None use a spear."

"There are stories of spear guardians," Gisael said.

Sakaala had been quiet up until this point. She placed a hand on my chest and looked up at me. "You're so big."

Gisael raised an eyebrow. "Come now. It is not right to ignore Mother, we must pay our respects then you can do what you want with Benzhi."

"Mother is resting," I said.

"Why?" Gisael asked, she knew that Mother was expecting them back at this time. "What did you do now?" She added the last in an accusing tone.

I shrugged, "It's best if she tells you."

Gisael looked towards the willow and then back to me, "It's been a long day. We can talk to Mother in the morning."

"Good idea," I added and Ailen shot me a glance.

"Where do you sleep?" Talila asked me specifically.

Gisael had walked towards a tree and climbed up ten feet. She turned back to us, "I have a niche large enough for us all."

"I sleep where I please," was my delayed answer to Talila. "We have the whole forest to ourselves. There are many spots, do you want me to show you a few?"

"I want to sleep with Benzhi," Sakaala announced.

Ailen laughed.

Although I had spent some time with Gisael their culture was still foreign to me. I took the safe route, "Let's follow Gisael for now and then decide. Her niche has our store of food, are you hungry?" I asked.

"We brought some supplies," Ailen said.

I climbed the closest tree and they followed. I was enjoying the new company, it was a breath of fresh air compared to spending all my time with Gisael. She was competent and beautiful, but the new companions were curious and fun.

The Svartalfar culture was different to what I was used to. We were all basically naked as we snuggled up together in a tree a few hundred feet off the ground. I wasn't sure if Gisael's arm around me was a show of ownership or if she thought to protect the newly arrived females from me.

Or it could have just been an innocent arm around a companion. They were too foreign for me to understand. At least I had Ailen to question now, I just had to get him alone.

The exhaustion of the days training overtook me, and I fell asleep almost immediately.