Chương 99: Chapter 2.36: Prey

The presence let go of Favius as suddenly as it had arrived. He grasped his chest, his breath ragged. The assassins. They. They… He pressed his eyes shut and forced pneuma through his body. They aren't real. He opened his eyes and glared at Sirrana before he swallowed. No, that's not what I should be doing. He looked over at the others. Caliga had fallen on her back and was shivering. Marius was bawling his eyes out. Tears and snot were running freely.

Urania had shuffled over to him and was holding him in a tight embrace. Burning anger roared in Favius's chest.

"Why!? They are just..." He hissed out loud before biting his tongue. Yet the message was clear as he glared at Brutus. The Magnicultor answered him with a long, intense look.

"You fail to understand, Favius."

"What is there to understand? You dropped this on them. Don't you see what happened?" Brutus clicked his tongue.

"Normally it would be excessive to do this to children. Yet..." He looked over all of them.

"I knew you all could take it. Even your youngest brother is rushing after all of you towards cultivation." Brutus clicked his tongue, and Sirrana continued.

"It's a rather common practice to expose Cultores to the aura and presence of powerful cultivators after they've earned their first insight." Favius's heart was still hammering in his chest.

"But why do it to Marius then, Brutus?" The sides of Brutus's mouth twitched, but before he could answer, Urania spoke up.

"Never ever do this again!" She hissed, glaring at Brutus and pressing Marius into her chest, uncaring that his snot and tears were staining her tunic. Brutus shrugged.

"Most children would break. Yet over our training, I've taken the measure of your little brother. How long do you think before he will attempt to gain an insight on his own?" Favius's heart finally returned to a normal beat with his final breath of pneuma. He looked over at Marius and frowned. Well, he's not wrong. Of course he's going to chase his older siblings. And this might work to deter him from something stupid, even though it was cruel. But suddenly the little boy's voice rang out, frail yet determined.

He swallowed and sniffed, yet his words were undeniable.

"Cultivation…" he murmured. His eyes found Brutus with a defiant glare.

"Uncle Brutus. Do it again," he hissed before sniffling. Favius collapsed forward, slamming his head into his hands as he heard Urania gasping and Caliga laughing alongside the adults. Oh fucking hell. My little brother is already insane. He looked up at Brutus.

"Do you really think that he might earn insight at an even younger age than us?" Then he looked at Urania and swallowed. Brutus's eyes met him, deep and intense. He spoke, yet it was clear to Favius that the words had a different meaning meant for him.

"With how the Fates and Muses have conspired around us. What do you think is going to happen, Favius?" Favius took a deep breath and nodded. Caliga rolled onto her side and lively bounced back into a sitting position. She looked between the two adults.

"Well, that was certainly fun," she ventured, and Favius flicked at her arm.

"Ouch," she hissed, glaring at him. But finally, he too shook his head.

"So, are there only three stages of presence, Brutus?" Urania sniffed while still holding Marius.

"Of course not. Haven't you been paying attention? The sacred number of us cultivators is five, therefore..." Caliga shook her head.

"No, didn't you hear? Cultores don't get anything like this." But Favius narrowed his eyes. That's not what they said, right? They said that people start training presence at Praecultor. But the flash… He began, and Sirrana nodded.

"Indeed, it is possible to train the flashing of a presence even towards the end of the Cultor rank." Favius tilted his head to the side before nodding.

"But the flash is useless. It's almost incidental. And even..." He looked at Sirrana.

"If your cultivation allows the flashing of your presence to have an effect, that requires more power than a Cultor can muster."

"Exactly." Brutus snapped his fingers.

"Hence why the training of the presence begins at the rank of Praecultor. Flashes..." He sniffed and shared a look with Sirrana.

"... are commonly the sign of insufficient control." Caliga narrowed her eyes.

"You're saying that my father—" Brutus nodded.

"Indeed. For all that he knows how to use his charismatic cultivation, his subtlety is one of words and timing, not one of heavenly power." Caliga made a sharp gesture.

"Oh, that's all very interesting, but..." She looked at Brutus.

"What's the term for the thing Magnicultores like you learn?" Brutus nodded and looked at Sirrana before shrugging his shoulders.

"Internalization," he said.

"It's hard to explain, but fundamentally, you turn your presence onto yourself, and through integrating your virtuous identity, soul, and insights, you gain the power to progress." Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. Favius rubbed his chin. Interesting that it isn't a direct power-up. Well, maybe it is. Brutus has literally only said a few sentences.

"Oh, that's…" Sirrana murmured. She looked at Brutus and raised her voice before looking at the children.

"Understand that this is not common knowledge. Do not spread it around. The only other clue I've gotten so far was from the Maatriarch. Your Grandmother said that the presence of a Magnicultor must answer a single question." She paused and looked around the circle.

"What kind of god would I like to be?" Favius swallowed and nodded. After several seconds of silence, he spoke up.

"So if there are five steps to cultivation and presence, what exactly do Transcensors do?" Brutus let out a harsh laugh.

"Boy, if you figure that out, please do tell me." Favius's eyes widened. Has Brutus ever admitted ignorance about anything in this world, especially cultivation? Well, it makes sense with there only being about two dozen Transcensors in the Republic. But then again, it could be that it's deeply mysterious and personal. But also that everyone just guards their knowledge jealously and cultivation is simply stuck because even if they have all the puzzle pieces, they are too paranoid to put the puzzle together.

They finished the rest of their tea in silence until Brutus slapped his thighs.

"Very well. Caliga. Marius. With me. We will be training running on uneven ground." Caliga smiled, and Marius wiped the last of the tears off his face and nodded determinedly. Sirrana turned to Favius and Urania. His sister sniffed.

"Let me guess. Another round of drawing lessons?" Sirrana paused in her movement.

"Well, if that's what the Young Lady desires." Urania's expression soured, but Favius held up two fingers.

"Please, Sirrana, what was your actual plan?" The injured Speculatorii Infiltratoris operator grinned sharply.

"I thought it was time to take you out into the forest. We've theorized on the nature of eagle owls for a while now." Favius shifted from foot to foot in excitement.

"You mean to say… It's time for a practical lesson?" She nodded and snapped her fingers.

"Indeed. But first we'll go on a little run to the forest to stir up your humors." With those words, she jogged out of the gymnasium, Favius and Urania on her heels. Her pace was vicious yet manageable, especially with pneuma. Urania struggled but ultimately kept up. Despite all the training, I keep forgetting that she only has one insight, and not an endurance one like me and Caliga. Soon they reached the familiar woods. Favius studied the semi-wild pines growing among the tree stumps of the last harvest.

Sirrana led them towards a clearing and instantly cozied up between a bush and a tree, almost melting into her environment. Favius narrowed his eyes and took in the resinous smell of the pines and the earthy one of the soft soil. Sirrana gestured at the two siblings who stood on the sparse grass. At her command, Favius and Urania did their best to imitate how she was hiding. Feels awkward. If I hadn't seen her move almost invisibly through the forest myself, I wouldn't actually believe it's possible.

I feel like a child cozying up to a tree and hoping if I pretend hard enough I'll turn invisible. He snorted, and Sirrana cleared her throat. She pointed towards three trees at the other side of the clearing.

"Tell me, children," she whispered, and Favius leaned in involuntarily.

"If you were an eagle owl hunting at night, which of those trees would you prefer?" It was perhaps the result of the week of immersing himself into what it would be like to be an eagle owl that he didn't even question the task. Instead, he carefully studied each of the trees. One was an old acacia, clearly on its last legs. Even spring had only brought it a scattering of leaves, and near the top, many exposed branches remained.

The other was an oak in the pride of its life, with many strong branches and dense leaves. The other one was a young pine, shooting up straight towards the sky. Yet its upper branches, despite reaching the same height as the other trees, were thin and swaying with the wind. Favius shifted in the underbrush and exchanged a look with Urania. Well, the answer seems obvious, but is this a trick question? Urania's puzzled expression told him she was thinking the same thoughts, but Sirrana sniffed.

"You're making the mistake cultivators attempting to awaken their shifter heritage are fond of. And I suspect..." She looked at both of them.

"... the two of you are especially vulnerable to this." Favius rolled his eyes.

"Let me guess. You mean that we are overthinking it and that the acacia is the obviously correct answer." Sirrana nodded.

"Indeed. The animal in your blood works by instinct. It flows with the rules of nature. It doesn't need to analyze the world." Her voice was low, almost as if she was telling a story over a campfire.

"Follow your gut. If something doesn't feel right, it will not be right." She looked at Urania.

"Tell me, where would you perch on the branches?" Favius studied the old acacia. Well, considering— He bit his tongue, shutting down the train of thought. I was just told not to think about it.

"Obviously not somewhere where leaves would block my line of sight. Or on a branch that would break under my weight."

"Yes," Urania continued, "but also not too close to the trunk, for then if I were to pounce on my prey, my wings might get tangled up." The conversation continued, and finally, after three more questions, both of them had selected a branch.

"Good. Well done," added Sirrana, smiling at them.

"Time for your next practical lesson. Follow." She exploded out from her cover, the silence of her movement an eerie contrast to her speed, and with a dozen quick steps, she cozied up against the oak on the other side of the clearing. Urania began walking, but Favius grabbed his sister's arm.

"No, I think we are supposed to—""Don't think," interjected Sirrana. Favius took a deep breath of the rich first air and ran. Another oak, a bit further beyond the clearing, was his target. He settled against its rough trunk and looked at Sirrana. Urania followed a moment later, kneeling behind a nearby pine. Sirrana again exploded forward in silent movement, and they kept advancing in quick bursts of movement, perching, studying, and assessing the next hiding place before waiting in silence.

At some point, Favius's thoughts just drifted away. The fresh scent of young plants, the spring air, the textured experience of the forest suffused Favius's world as they made it up the goat path and advanced onto the hilltop. Favius startled with surprise, cowering in the shadow of a tree next to the stump of the pine Brutus had broken. The split trunk still lay near the cliff. I don't know how much time has passed. This could have gone on for hours, but...

He looked over at Sirrana, squinting to make her out even though she was only a few trees over. She really knows how to get us into flow. Well, maybe the flow state is key to becoming a shifter— No. He bit his tongue. I'm analyzing it again. For now, I only need to experience all this. Sirrana gestured a stop to the exercise, and they walked out onto the plateau. Urania instantly squinted at the split pine.

"This wasn't here before." Her eyes fell onto Sirrana, and Favius noticed how the woman's shoulders tensed. Urania continued.

"What did you and Brutus do?" She half asked, half accused. Favius didn't even consider the answer. He just smiled and shared a look with Sirrana.

"Nothing much, just some defining of our relationship." She glared first at Favius, then at Sirrana before sighing.

"Why am I not surprised that defining a relationship with Brutus involves breaking a nice old tree?" Favius met Sirrana's eyes, and both of them chuckled. Yet despite Favius's best efforts, the thoughts began to run. Well, even though I acted on instinct there, as Sirrana told me, I think it was still the correct decision. After all, telling Urania would just humiliate Sirrana, and that can't be in my best interest. What happened up here was a thing between three adults. The side of his mouth twitched.

Even though Sirrana isn't aware of that. Favius looked at the assassin's face.

"So I'm assuming you haven't just taken us up here..." He gestured out towards the Cindrathi plains, where the last remnants of morning fog were dissipating and the fresh green of grain was coloring in the previously brown landscape.

"... to enjoy the view and..." He smirked.

"... to reminisce in the memories this place brings up." She shook her head and gestured to them to walk closer to the edge of the canyon. Favius walked over and noted a pile of fist-sized stones next to where Sirrana squatted down. He and Urania followed her example.

"What do you see?" she whispered. Favius squinted down into the canyon.

"Well, it's over a hundred meters deep. Lots of loose rocks at the bottom, maybe fifty across, and..." He looked to one side.

"... peters out not a hundred meters away, but the valley, well, there's just a turn. I don't know how far into the mountains it goes."

"There's no river down there," murmured Urania.

"Just rocks and a few scrawny plants." Favius rubbed his chin. That's actually a good point. Well, not that I'm a trained geologist, but... Sirrana snapped her fingers.

"You're overthinking again. Think like an eagle owl. Would a night-hunting bird analyze the geography?" Favius shared a chagrined look with Urania. Not sure what she did, but hell, she probably calculated the volume of the thing or something. Urania squinted, and the orange glow of her owl eyes suddenly seemed eerie.

"An eagle owl would consider its perch. Jumping down on any unsuspecting prey down there." Sirrana nodded, picked up a stone, and hurled it towards the deep end of the canyon. Its distant shattering sounded eerily like a gunshot. Favius squinted and noted two men in roughspun tunics with crooked staffs moving near the impact site. They startled before disappearing behind a set of rocks. Shepherds. Observing through narrowed eyes, Favius heard the noises. Distant bleating sounds. The scattering of rocks.

Finally, he saw them. Nearly a dozen scrawny, off-white, furry shapes with horns scattered into the depths of the canyon. There was only one conclusion in his mind. Without thinking, he whispered the word.

"Prey."