The farewell to the new Shen Guane was sad and lazy. Some people had already gotten used to the local level of protection and openly expressed their desire to stay. Most of the people on the island began to blindly believe that this was the most protected fortress, while others simply did not want to travel through dangerous lands, so yes, about a third stayed in Shen Guan on one condition: they would have to learn architecture. Since this did not require magic, and people knew how to survive even on a piece of lifeless wasteland, they realised that this could become their new calling. He did not interfere in the people's decisions, nor in the disputes that arose immediately after families began to have different opinions about what to do next. Here's an example: a wife with a child wanted to go to Omasha, but her husband wanted to defend the borders and explore new areas. Or some were afraid to go further, to leave the walls where there were big and scary magicians, like that mercenary, and for this reason, their family members wanted to go to a more protected place. Who resolved such conflicts? Suyuki, who had become independent, acted as a wise woman to whom people could turn for advice. She would reach some kind of consensus, and everyone would be satisfied. After working so hard for a couple of hours that even I felt sorry for her, Suyuki finally assembled a squad, and we left the fortress walls.The road to Omasha was not close, but fortunately, it was well maintained, and it was now difficult to encounter enemies in the cleared areas. However, now we had to distribute food properly, continue to guard the prisoners, and double our efforts to keep an eye on the metal-bound shahid so that he would not decide to commit suicide, taking the entire squad with him. To achieve this, the man had to be kept unconscious at all times. Who did all this? Suyuki! She fully felt the weight of responsibility and tried to deal with everything on her own. Realising that she simply did not know her way around in the new conditions, I could not help but assist her. The girl didn't know many of the principles of local hunting, such as how to track unknown prey in the forest or set traps for horned animals. She was supposed to know all this, but the animals on her island had long been domesticated, and there weren't that many chickens and pigs. Thinking about what else might be useful to her, I taught her how to make poultices to help with illnesses, showed her how to make ointments for burns, and even gave her a couple of books on the subject. All this, of course, was mixed in with observing the civilians, so she learned damn fast.
***
"Five minutes of free time..." Lying in a spacious stone house, Suyuki, without a single positive emotion on her face, rubbed her stiff shoulders and prayed to all the spirits she knew that at least tonight no one would interrupt her long-awaited and well-deserved rest. No, they weren't in the village they had come across on the way, whose inhabitants had kindly taken them in for the night, nor were they in a mage's tavern, but in Dagoth's personal fortress, with houses for every inhabitant, a stone wall and the finest interior. Suyuki could hardly imagine that all these houses were made of magic, even though she had seen the process of their construction with her own eyes. They stopped a metre from the road, and then such gigantic and beautiful structures formed from the ground — magic! So much for Suyuki's dislike of magic. But she couldn't deny that it was cosy here: the bed was a little hard, but no worse than the bare ground on which the Kioshi warriors learned to sleep in order to strengthen their character; the tables and walls were made of grey stone, but in essence, they were stronger than their wooden huts, which collapsed under their own weight. "But why me?
Nevertheless, curled up in a ball, Suyuki could only think about her recent decisions. The problem was that not all the responsibilities fell on her: the ordinary inhabitants still had advisors who could deal with trivial matters, such as who was in conflict with whom or who didn't have enough food. But the girl felt that she would gladly take on all their responsibilities and pass the burden on to the military. After all, she was the one who had to solve problems by force: not enough food? Kill a herd of animals; another conflict with prisoners? Find the culprit and punish them; someone badly injured or sick? Oh, no need to kill anyone, just learn basic medicine! Too many new responsibilities and the pressure that tested her personal qualities, masculinity and fortitude.
"I am a warrior of Kioshi, and I must not cry over such things," tears welled up in the girl's eyes. And at that moment... there was a knock on the silicon door. Suyuki flinched in surprise, but was more angry than frightened. "Who is it again?
"It's me. Am I disturbing you? Today was a difficult day. I've hardly slept since yesterday, trying to get that mercenary to talk. He seems to have a tongue, but he's as dumb as a piece of meat," but then Dagoth's voice came from the other side. The girl instantly opened her mouth and, quickly wiping the tears from her eyes, let him in. If other people just brought her problems, this man taught her how to deal with them. Then Dagoth, in his new robe with his belt open, entered, holding two saucers in his hands. Suyuki was embarrassed by the man's revealing attire, but allowed him to sit down next to her on the sofa, then took the plate of some yellowish liquid that he held out to her. "Banana porridge.
"Really? - Suyuki immediately narrowed her eyes suspiciously," "You didn't add your ugly onions to it, did you?
"Only bananas, I'm not some kind of monster. I put all the onions in Afka's food," Dagoth smiled, but looked at her meaningfully. As if he could see right through her, which made Suyuki quickly push the plate with the sweet food away and start slurping it up. "You think you can't handle it?
"Ahem, I'm the captain of the Kioshi squad! I'm the toughest of all the warriors, how can I not be able to handle it?" She felt that she simply couldn't appear weak in front of a man who had done even more than her.
But that look... Dagoth continued to stare, as if hoping for her to continue. Because of this, a lump formed in Suyuki's throat, and her eyes began to moisten.
"I never thought we would encounter an entire fleet of enemy ships and such powerful mages as that mercenary! We were created to fight lawlessness, there is not a single mage among us, and compared to the real Kioshi, we only know how to wave fans and katanas. By forbidding us to kill, you are making us fear this world even more. I know I can lead a squad, but I'm afraid the world itself is beyond my power. Poultries, burn ointments... I imagine having to use them in a dangerous situation, and my body freezes up.
Suyuki was angry that Dagoth was making her feel even more vulnerable. But even though he understood her emotions, he didn't know how to help her in this situation. Lowering his gaze, he scanned the floor for some kind of answer and allowed silence to take over the room. This malicious act did not go unnoticed by Suyuki — her hands began to tremble with uncertainty. But then...
"Chi," he blurted out unexpectedly. "Your chi flow must be in turmoil because of all these emotions. I'm not the best person to talk to about such matters, but... if you trust me, I can help you become at least a little more confident." Sit in front of me," Dagog assumed the lotus position right on her bed and literally urged the girl, who had rolled her eyes, to repeat after him. Right now, she didn't want to engage in philosophy or touch on what she thought were the mystical aspects of the issue. However, instead of telling her about his views on the world, he simply took her hand and made her look at what she had already done.
She was afraid of responsibility, but she looked danger in the eye, ready to help and protect her people. She was afraid that she would have to use her experience, but she stubbornly prepared herself for any situation. Terrified by the dangers of the open world, she went there to survive. Dagoth simply pointed out the things that she, like Kioshi, had been trying to hone since childhood, explaining that she had everything to be proud of. And fear...
"Everyone is afraid. The main thing is what you do," he opened his eyes. And this was not just some ephemeral indication of a new view of the world, but literally forced her personality to press on the locked first chakra and, quietly, making breaches in the barrier, to break down this dam, allowing the flow of chi to spread smoothly along her entire spine. Obviously, it wasn't just magicians who were capable of such things, since there were gurus who didn't possess a single element, and it didn't give her any special powers... except confidence. The girl looked into Dagoth's eyes, feeling only trust.
"I feel strange... - opening her eyes slightly, Suyuki nevertheless rubbed them, tired," - As if she had suddenly begun to drift off to sleep. Was it some kind of hypnosis to knock me out? What if... what if someone needs help?
Dagoth quickly got up and, letting the girl rest her head on his palm, gently laid her on the bed.
"Your body has begun to understand how to survive, listen to it. If you don't rest, you'll feel worse, so close your eyes and sleep. I think tomorrow you'll wake up with new strength and prove yourself to be an excellent leader... oh, she can't hear me anymore," he said, covering the girl with a blanket and leaving the room. He leaned against the door and concentrated on his own hands. Concern slowly gave way to surprise. "The flow of awakening chi is so strong that I can feel it myself. It had no trace of the energy I control. It had no impurities at all, which must mean she is an ordinary person. Is this the energy that gurus learn to control?
Lost in thought, Dagoth slowly moved towards the fire, where he silently sat down among a group of Kioshi warriors who were discussing something, and tried to sense something from them. The calm flow was already invisible; it was impossible to even tell if they were magicians.
"If my assumption is correct, the next chakra will allow me to constantly feel this energy, and all subsequent ones will only improve this feeling. However... is it possible to open the fourth chakra without knowing anything important about the sources of Qi? Guru Hyu is a water mage, by definition well versed in Qi; Bumi, if he opened this chakra, must have travelled for many years and could have gained wisdom from anyone; Guru Patika is not even worth mentioning, at this point he must be older than Bumi; Airo, if he is some kind of enlightened being, knows more about Qi than all of them put together. Even Avatar Aang must have known about them, for air nomads, for whom spiritual enlightenment is the basis of their philosophy, know a great deal about the chi system. They must all have at least known the subtleties that allow one to feel the energy within others, otherwise it would appear that by opening the chakra, a person gains knowledge from nowhere.
Sweat dripped from Dagoth's forehead.
Realising that if this requirement was true, and that in addition to opening his heart, he needed to get to know other people... this would prevent him from opening his chakra in the near future.
"I must get to Bumi quickly to find out everything.
Over the next few days, the surroundings changed from simple forests and glades to yellow mountains, and caravans of the people of the land were sometimes encountered along the way. As for Suyuki, no one really noticed any changes in her behaviour. After all, she was already a courageous leader who made well-considered decisions. Most importantly, she herself began to feel this way, and this was followed by more thoughtful decisions and a greater desire to learn.
As for Dagoth... he continued to train in combat. He wanted to be ready for any possible situation and conflict with the Tsar when he appeared before Omash.
"How huge," the people who saw the gigantic structure exclaimed.
"Well... let's go," Dagoth adjusted the sleeves of his new suit and pulled the chained prisoners closer to him. As he crossed the large, long bridge, he unknowingly forced all the people standing in line to move aside. Standing before the gates, with a crowd of residents and fire soldiers on leashes, he looked harshly into the eyes of the soldiers who recognised him. "Let us through?"
"What are these, fire soldiers? Your prisoners?
"They are. Any problems?
"N-no! Go through, Sand Mage. King Bumi has been waiting for you.
***
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