The sun was carefully making its way beneath the horizon, but had another good thirty minutes or so before its light would be lost for the night. Vermilion streaks laced the skies beautifully and golden clouds scrolled across the heavens at a leisurely pace. The evening's breeze was warm, wrapping itself around both objects and beings with invisible embraces before gently letting go and slipping away. A small black butterfly would flit about, passing over a familiar clearing below and bringing into view the subjects of our intrigue.
It had been weeks since Tensai's Granduncle's place had been ransacked and burned to the ground, but expecting the old man to stay idle within the bustling city for long wouldn't have been prudent. He would hobble about and put Tensai through one form of cultivation or another, even honing the boy's combat skills against his own despite being injured. Once healed up, the old veteran let it be known that he would be returning home, a statement that caused Tensai's brow to be raised. The internal questions perplexing him about the old man's decisions would be answered eventually.
When they initially left, the sun had been nearing its highest point in the sky. Once they made it to the clearing where the elder's shack had once been, the two would get to work. Under wise instruction, Tensai would use a perceived tragedy as an opportunity to better himself. He would follow the old man's lead while the two focused on using their chakra to gently coerce the earth into complying with their wishes. The physical movements that helped to control the flow of energy resembled Tai Chi, and the effects caused the soil and earthen minerals to shift delicately. They'd clear away the burnt debris and salvage anything worth keeping, while burying whatever could be accepted by the earth beneath its soil.
Tensai all the while listened to his Granduncle lecture, about how the use of one's spiritual energy to work with the elements was a privilege and not something to be senselessly abused. He told of how many arrogantly thought of themselves of masters over the elements, elements that would continue to exist long after the self-proclaimed master had become nothing more than bones. The young Hashashin would learn to give thanks and respect to that which he could call to his aid, any and all elements...For not only were they external, but on a deeper level every element was the foundation of what human beings themselves consisted of.
At the time of their work, Tensai had only just begun to tap into the elemental energy of the earth. It only made sense considering that the first chakra he would learn and deliberate over would be the Muladhara or his Root Chakra. Up until that point, he had only very faint instance in which his dissociated pure chakra would flare, and he had started learning to focus that energy into certain parts of his body and utilize it for basic techniques. It had become apparent to him that his Root Chakra seemed to almost constantly generate, not in the sense of power, but an energy and inexplicable feeling where it resided within his body. Using techniques that drew upon the earthen elements seemed to ease the restless tension, and expend the excess energy stored within the ethereal or philosophical spiral.
As the sun neared its lowest point, Tensai watched as his Granduncle used an advanced combination of elements to create wood and tree seemingly out of nothingness. The trees foliage would spread and crawl over the clearing, making the area more dense and hidden while in the center a larger domicile was being manifested. The color of the wood was dark, and it seemed thick and heavy, unlikely to be burned away easily by all but the most powerful of techniques. What formed began to look like a rather advanced manor, and though Tensai himself couldn't create any techniques using the wooden elements, he used his earthen techniques to help wherever possible. Tensai's Granduncle talked about how he personally preferred much simpler dwellings, which explained his previous condition, but knowing that he was now possibly someone's target meant it was time to bolster his defenses.
By the time they were finished, Tensai appeared to be quite exhausted, and the old man himself managed to break a small sweat. It would seem like an entirely different location, and one that wouldn't be nearly as easy to find or infiltrate as before. As the two approached the thick and sturdy wooden door, the old man would have to apply just a bit more chakra to cause it to swing open slowly. Tensai's mouth opened slightly in disbelief as he stood at the entrance, looking into a place that was finely furnished with bookshelves and everything, already stocked too. Although it didn't have all the same things as before, what was there now seemed to fill the much larger space quite perfectly. An explanation would only scarcely be given, with a few words hinting that below the surface of the old shack had been much more than what met the eye.
Picking up the bags he had brought with him to the secluded area, Tensai would prepare to help his Granduncle with some tea and perhaps learn a bit more. The old man truly was a surprising character, with his almost leathery and wrinkled dark skin. One could only imagine what he must have been capable of during his youth. Managing to live so long in a world of battle and death such as the one inhabited by Shinobi took a certain level of power and intelligence, and it was only at that moment Tensai begun to realize that his Granduncle was stronger than initially thought...Even though slowed and weathered by time's relentless presence...
It had been weeks since Tensai's Granduncle's place had been ransacked and burned to the ground, but expecting the old man to stay idle within the bustling city for long wouldn't have been prudent. He would hobble about and put Tensai through one form of cultivation or another, even honing the boy's combat skills against his own despite being injured. Once healed up, the old veteran let it be known that he would be returning home, a statement that caused Tensai's brow to be raised. The internal questions perplexing him about the old man's decisions would be answered eventually.
When they initially left, the sun had been nearing its highest point in the sky. Once they made it to the clearing where the elder's shack had once been, the two would get to work. Under wise instruction, Tensai would use a perceived tragedy as an opportunity to better himself. He would follow the old man's lead while the two focused on using their chakra to gently coerce the earth into complying with their wishes. The physical movements that helped to control the flow of energy resembled Tai Chi, and the effects caused the soil and earthen minerals to shift delicately. They'd clear away the burnt debris and salvage anything worth keeping, while burying whatever could be accepted by the earth beneath its soil.
Tensai all the while listened to his Granduncle lecture, about how the use of one's spiritual energy to work with the elements was a privilege and not something to be senselessly abused. He told of how many arrogantly thought of themselves of masters over the elements, elements that would continue to exist long after the self-proclaimed master had become nothing more than bones. The young Hashashin would learn to give thanks and respect to that which he could call to his aid, any and all elements...For not only were they external, but on a deeper level every element was the foundation of what human beings themselves consisted of.
At the time of their work, Tensai had only just begun to tap into the elemental energy of the earth. It only made sense considering that the first chakra he would learn and deliberate over would be the Muladhara or his Root Chakra. Up until that point, he had only very faint instance in which his dissociated pure chakra would flare, and he had started learning to focus that energy into certain parts of his body and utilize it for basic techniques. It had become apparent to him that his Root Chakra seemed to almost constantly generate, not in the sense of power, but an energy and inexplicable feeling where it resided within his body. Using techniques that drew upon the earthen elements seemed to ease the restless tension, and expend the excess energy stored within the ethereal or philosophical spiral.
As the sun neared its lowest point, Tensai watched as his Granduncle used an advanced combination of elements to create wood and tree seemingly out of nothingness. The trees foliage would spread and crawl over the clearing, making the area more dense and hidden while in the center a larger domicile was being manifested. The color of the wood was dark, and it seemed thick and heavy, unlikely to be burned away easily by all but the most powerful of techniques. What formed began to look like a rather advanced manor, and though Tensai himself couldn't create any techniques using the wooden elements, he used his earthen techniques to help wherever possible. Tensai's Granduncle talked about how he personally preferred much simpler dwellings, which explained his previous condition, but knowing that he was now possibly someone's target meant it was time to bolster his defenses.
By the time they were finished, Tensai appeared to be quite exhausted, and the old man himself managed to break a small sweat. It would seem like an entirely different location, and one that wouldn't be nearly as easy to find or infiltrate as before. As the two approached the thick and sturdy wooden door, the old man would have to apply just a bit more chakra to cause it to swing open slowly. Tensai's mouth opened slightly in disbelief as he stood at the entrance, looking into a place that was finely furnished with bookshelves and everything, already stocked too. Although it didn't have all the same things as before, what was there now seemed to fill the much larger space quite perfectly. An explanation would only scarcely be given, with a few words hinting that below the surface of the old shack had been much more than what met the eye.
Picking up the bags he had brought with him to the secluded area, Tensai would prepare to help his Granduncle with some tea and perhaps learn a bit more. The old man truly was a surprising character, with his almost leathery and wrinkled dark skin. One could only imagine what he must have been capable of during his youth. Managing to live so long in a world of battle and death such as the one inhabited by Shinobi took a certain level of power and intelligence, and it was only at that moment Tensai begun to realize that his Granduncle was stronger than initially thought...Even though slowed and weathered by time's relentless presence...
[WC: 968]