Chocolates are a wonderful thing. Kids love to eat them, woman love to receive them, while men gift them in hopes of something even better. There are no natural poisons found in nature which are sweet in nature, so even a dumb animal knows that if something is sweet, it must not be bad and can be eaten. Perhaps this is why sweets such as chocolates have become a symbol of affection.*****
The Ocean, the Fairy Ship.
The beast-men beneath the ship were having their rarely found rest and the ship was only making use of the naturally available wind to move forward. Except for the staff and the overly responsible female captain, the other pa.s.sengers were either resting or sleeping. Of course, the "other pa.s.sengers" were the Druid envoys, which no one would dare to offend because of their authority, and the couple from the Gateway Continent, Param and Madhu, whom no one would dare to offend after sensing the Profound Energy surging from their bodies.
In a s.p.a.cious room on the ship, a beautiful woman cuddled a snoring white man. The white man had white hair, and even his lips were a little white so they couldn"t be spotted easily. There was some drool over his lips, and he looked like a Greek marble statue.
This was the unusual couple, Param and Madhu.
After getting beaten up for losing the scroll in which they recorded the Precise Energy Control Technique, he remade the scroll and only then she allowed him to touch her.
The room was silent except for his snoring sounds, and Param"s eyeb.a.l.l.s moved rapidly beneath his eyelids. Old memories resurfaced in his mind and appeared before him.
He was dreaming again !
###
Param was seven years old, and had successfully persuaded his father to buy some chocolate powder along with the monthly groceries. This was the first time this family brought something which had a new, "chocolaty" flavor.
He and his brother, who was two years younger than him, were only allowed to drink chocolate milk at night. But how could kids control their itchy hands and mischievous minds ? The two stealthily "raided" the gla.s.s bottle filled with chocolate powder.
Images moved, and another blurry image appeared.
Their father spotted them secretly eating chocolate and grew angry. He smashed the bottle on a table and quickly removed the broken gla.s.s. It was unknown whether there were still some small shards. He took a large spoon and looked at the two kids who were forced to stand in front of him.
"You love to eat this, don"t you ? Now eat !"
The spoon which was bigger than their mouths was shoved in their mouth, and although they did not feel good in their stomachs the did not dare to speak out. They were supposed to finish the thousand grams of chocolate powder.
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Another spoon was shoved, then another, and then again another....
...Until...
Another spoon was eaten, then another, and then again another....
Until Param suddenly opened his eyes.
###
Param opened his eyes. It was dark outside and not morning yet. Madhu was deep asleep and still cuddling him, and he could smell her body scent. He slowly got out of the bed and tucked the beauty in.
He walked onto the deck and the ocean breeze hit his face as he thought about his dream.
It had been many years, he had become independent and had left the barbaric place. He"d established his own game development company, and had met new people and had been to new places. Yet those torturous things have still now bound him somehow.
He stared into the sea, searching for the horizon. Would he one day obtain eternal freedom from this nightmare?
A few minutes later he left the deck and entered another room, which was their so-called "study room". After the previous beating Param decided to discard his old habits and decided to properly arrange their research. Even though he thought that she was actually the one who kept things messy, he didn"t have to guts to complain. After all, her fist was stronger than his.
There was a large diagram on one of the walls on which the outline of a human like shape was drawn. Various parts of the spine was highlighted and there were innumerable lines drawn through the spine. These were energy pa.s.sages, and even the medical experts of all the continents would not be able to recognize all of them.
A little distance away from the diagram was a table, over which were numerous scrolls over which things were messily written. They were the imperfect versions of the technique the couple was working on.
He opened another scroll which was partially written and was the final version after multiple corrections and references. He started writing from the scroll under the light from the lamps made from luminous mosses. These mosses were similar to the ones Param saw in his previous home cave.
The name of the scroll was vaguely seen in the light, something which will be a legend in the coming ages.
The Eternal Art.
*****
Makara Dynasty, Human Continent.
The caravan of the Druids moved raising dust in the air. The beasts pulling the carriages and the carts looked like a funny combination of a bull and a horse, and their faces looked quite stupid. They were called by different names by different groups of people, but one name was commonly agreed upon, which was the "Wind Movers". They were called so because it was said that when these beasts walked, even the wind around them moved. Although it was a little exaggerated, it showed how much strength and endurance these beasts had.
On one cart was Ananya, who was practicing her Seven Lotus Comprehensive Art. Her hands moved in a rhythm, and her smooth and rough hands attacked towards the empty air in front of her. Fists, chop, and finger piercing, all techniques were used and each would hit the vitals or the soft parts of the body. Her legs occasionally changed positions and she was able to move swiftly even by just using small movements. None of her movements were forceful and if carefully noticed, one would realize that she would take extremely small breaks and still regain her strength by revitalizing herself.
"This disciple of mine is really talented !" Sura who was sitting on the corner of the top of the cart boasted shamelessly and laughed in the air, as if he was the one who taught her the Seven Lotus Comprehensive Art. He suddenly stopped and looked at the girl who was practicing diligently and thought that maybe he heard her snorting at him.
Must be my imagination, he thought.
After all, Ananya was such a gentle and well-behaved girl and always respected him. She would never snort at his comments !
She eventually came near him and showed an open palm towards him in a stance; it was an invitation to a spar !
Mad Saber fixed his sword to a place and walked near her steadily. Although the Vindhya Sword Art was created to use a sword, it"s moves could be used without using one. He took a stance and placed his open palms in front of him, acting like swords. Even though he didn"t held a heavy sword he seemed firm on his legs, as if nothing could shake him.
The cart traveled along the rough road and sometimes wobbled a little, but the figures at the top of the cart were steady as if they were rooted on the spot. Mad Saber moved violently and his each strikes were heavy like a mountain. However Ananya countered perfectly and each of her opponent"s strike was nullified with seven steps from her. Another seven steps, and she was almost attacking his vitals. Mad Saber moved from offensive to defensive and tried to block her attacks. She immediately changed her posture and moved her legs. Retreating a little, strength filled her legs as she kicked the other"s feet and tried to disrupt his balance.
"What a brilliant art ! Able to change the target of attack so quickly."
Mad Saber thought as he lowered his center of gravity to avoid a fall. However the cart suddenly stopped and he tumbled forward due to inertia, falling near Ananya"s feet.
He quickly got up and dusted his clothes. So embarra.s.sing, he thought.
They turned their heads and noticed five men blocking the road. They were carrying bows and arrows, and their arrows were pointing at the beasts pulling the carriage in the front. Sura looked at them and immediately understood. These people were bandits, and although these five people looked quite feeble when compared to the beasts pulling the carriage, their arrows had lethal poison on them and these well trained bandits could easily shoot the beast"s eyes or other soft parts. Once a running beasts falls, it would drag the carriage behind him into a whirlwind !
The beasts were stopped by the drivers of the carriages and carts. A few moments later more than fifty bandits came out of their hiding and surrounded the caravan. The druid guards who were the common disciples of the clan and the human mercenaries came out with their weapons. A majority of the bandits were humans, while there were a few Tiger beast-men among them. The human bandits were riding wild boar like beasts, while the beast-men seemed to have higher posts as they were on horse like beasts.
With a roar some of the bandits moved aside, and a vicious looking beast came forward. The beast was known for its viciousness, and was called as "Vicious Teeth". A Tiger beast-men sat on its back, and other from his beast-men features he looked quite average. The caravan member did not underestimate him; a man who could tame a "Vicious Teeth" would be anything but average.
The bandit leader opened his mouth, and his voice boomed.
"Hand over your goods and the humans, and you tree b*tches can go."