Star Field Ignition

  The crackling sound accompanied a miniature explosion which enveloped the small tent. The shelter beside the wagon puffed with thick, impenetrable smoke.

  A familiar hacking and coughing fit, followed soon after, as two children covered in grime and soot staggered out. The unnatural smog seemed reluctant to leave the origin of its birth, dissipating very slowly in small tentacled wisps.

  The boy and girl inhaled the crisp winter air.

  "Only an hour more... I nearly had it Chu but I ran out of spiritual power at the end."

  "All this is within expectations so don't fret. Why don't you ride up to the hill by Miki and clear your mind? Later when your mana recovers, we can try again."

  Chu patted the redhead on the shoulder while offering support. A sarcastic voice chimed in from the outside.

  "Hmph, this is the second lifestone you wasted. Some Pillmaster you are. Looks like I wasted all my time in sending you to the Alchemist Guild to learn. All my money and begging, down the drain."

  Ming rounded the wagon, shaking his head as he bit down on the sandwich. He cast a look of pity on the soiled pair. Dyna narrowed her eyes, casting a side glance laced with disdain at the speaker.

  Fixing her black cloak while tossing her red hair over a scarf, she then stepped out.

  "See that, Chu? I always keep telling you it's her they learn it from. See where they get it?"

  "Instead of trying to pick a fight, why don't you forage for roots to make a soup. I don't want to blaze through our rations."

  Chu replied while dusting the soot from his clothes. The cavalry departed early in the morning towards the town of Karst, leaving them to their devices. Since then, he and Dyna prepared the ingredients and conducted a dry run for concocting the potion.

  The first attempt suffered a failure when they added the lifestone early, the second occurred when Dyna drained all her mana. He sat down on the bundles of firewood Ming had struggled to gather in the grasslands.

  "She nearly had it. The liquid actually turned colorless at the end. For someone who only had a short time to learn how to channel mana into spiritual power, she has to be a genius. It takes around four hours to concoct one potion, so I think we should obtain another result by late evening. Have the horses ready since we will have to race to the next camp."

  "Alright, no problem, I'll also inform Lucy."

  ***

  "You guys are so late. Did something happen on the road?"

  "Nah, the apprentice stopped to find some herbs. You know how eccentric they move."

  Ming chatted with the guards assigned to the cavalry camp before finding a secluded spot. After a light meal around the campfire, they retired to the wagon. The five of them circled a small flask placed in the center.

  "And this is why I think you should be the last to drink it."

  "I agree. We can't afford something to happen to you. Ming is right, you should be the last among us to drink it."

  "Wait, Lucy, I support you but you shouldn't drink it either. Chu is our leader and is indispensable. You, however, are even worse. Not only are you our trump card, but you have the complications of having that sun circle in your star field. Who knows what side effects it may have."

  Chu rapped his hand on the nearby ration box to bring their conversations to an end.

  "Since when has this turned into a democracy? Don't belittle yourself in front of me. I'm the only one among you who has more knowledge regarding this business. Besides, I'm also the eldest. Lucy, Dyna, stand guard. Miki, remain with me and have our first-aid kit ready. Ming, help her hold me down if I catch a fit. Let's begin."

  Chu opened the top of the wooden flask while peering under the hanging oil lamp at the contents. A clear viscous mixture with properties similar to liquid mercury occupied the small flask. Dyna succeeded on the last attempt for the day. The small flask held a mouthful of liquid for one person.

  Four hours, one lifestone, all to create a potion of a single dose. Chu sighed on thinking about the massive expenditure of ancient mages.

  He removed a small bamboo-like cylinder and recovered a tightly wound talisman protected from the elements. Scanning through, he browsed over another stack of papers from the saddlebag.

  Shooting a glance at Miki, he nodded while lifting the flask.

  "Well, here goes nothing. Bottoms up."

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  An ice-cold liquid tumbled over his mouth like a balloon refusing to burst. It operated like a slime without the trail as it followed the constrictions of his throat.

  Chu swallowed, tracking the chill as it leisurely made its way towards his stomach. He fixed himself in a cross-legged position to begin meditation.

  "So far, so good. Keep an eye out."

  He grinned at the concerned look plastered on Miki who promptly replied with a scowl.

  Chu closed his eyes while scanning his body with his mind. The liquid blob had entered his stomach where he expected it to dissipate. To his surprise, however, he felt the chill trail continuing onwards.

  For a moment fear flashed across his face but vanished as the gut-wrenching pain of a torn stomach did not materialize.

  As his rapid breathing calmed, the blob seemed to halt its descent by gravity settling somewhere around his navel. Understanding that this event surpassed his limited knowledge of medical science, Chu began the breathing and chanting techniques to access his star field.

  Entering the astrophysical realm and standing on the edge overlooking the heaven and the ocean, Chu received a fright.

  The ocean of mist had gathered together, forming a thin dragon-like creature which chased its tail in a never-ending loop. The circle flashed silver as it swirled and approached him until it floated within arm's length.

  Above him, the dark sky struggled to contain an infinite number of silver stars. Small as pinholes they paled in comparison to the two larger stars twinkling down.

  Chu looked at the dragon and then focused on a particular speck. With a silent roar as if receiving a summons, the dragon straightened like an arrow and pierced towards his goal.

  A boom rocked his star field as another bright star joined the others. Simultaneously, the heavens shattered, returning to the darkness with the exception of the three stars.

  "Hah, water. Bring me some water."

  Chu guzzled down the lukewarm cup of water while making a thumbs up sign to Miki. He pushed his hand under the cloak to feel the drenched shirt below.

  "How long was I in meditation?"

  "About half the night. Lucy and Dyna have been peeping inside but I kept them at bay."

  "You did good Miki."

  Chu said as he patted her shoulder. The icy sensation near his navel had disappeared. The dragon in his star field disappeared after literally sucking the mana ocean dry. He summed up the important facts. One lifestone ingredient potion for one surefire way to ignite one star.

  "This method has one serious drawback according to what I experienced."

  Chu said after he explained his findings to the group. Currently, everyone had returned to the wagon.

  "Before we use the potion, we need to always read our star field talisman. The potion causes all the stars on your talismans to appear as similar tiny looking stars.

  If you don't have an idea of where your larger stars are located, then you will end up with a high probability of igniting a small star."

  He reached his finger under his chin while stroking it.

  "I have another theory I want to test..."

  ***

  For three weeks the cavalry traveled along the deserted roadway, making their way slowly westward.

  One of the reasons for the creeping pace lay in the fact that the scouts had begun to widen their scope around the grasslands for any signs of demon beast activity.

  According to the Captain, the signs so far pointed to the fact that the Bitzers had not ventured south of the roadway leading to Karst.

  A messenger squad of five soldiers had already departed to Limerock to update the garrison and the Military on the findings. Most likely, a platoon of foot soldiers would be dispatched to ensure this line remains unbroken. The Military would then use the road as a starting point in dragging the net to the north.

  Under the cold winter sun, a redhead sat cross-legged between the large roots of a lone tree atop a hill. The naked branches above spread like a thousand hands of skeletal fingers, reaching and complaining to the sky.

  A large white wolf rested behind her, close enough to transfer warmth through contact with its soft fur. The closed eyes on the serene face opened revealing a pair of startling emerald eyes as a wisp of fog escaped from her reddened lips.

  "It's like Chu said, Amarok. Yin and Yang, the mana in my ocean increases along with the number of stars I have in the sky. Hehehe, do you think I should tell him I've ignited over sixty stars? Or should I wait until I unlock one hundred and smash Ming's pride?"

  The large wolf seems to raise an ear and flex its shoulder muscles to bump her as if agreeing with the latter. Dyna stretched her cramped legs before shielding them under the cloak from the chill.

  In the past three weeks, she succeeded in concocting two to three potions a day. Since she possessed a well-defined talisman with over a hundred large stars, Chu allocated over ten potions for her consumption.

  The remainder he divided up between him and the others.

  "Chu is never wrong. When I concoct the potion, I use all my mana, and when I use the potion I also drain my mana from the ocean. I think because of that, my body has been absorbing mana at a faster rate from the world."

  Dyna leaned against the wolf.

  "If I don't use the potion, I can now form five arrows to shoot the heavens. This lady has found the best way to hunt stars."

  The redhead chuckled as she rolled the important talisman and secured it inside a small cylinder. Unlike Ming who squandered his potions in piercing the pinpoint needles, Dyna used a more practical approach. She scrutinized her talisman to find stars which connected to each other in a relatively straight line.

  Using the potion to ignite the ones at the end, she used her five chances to unlock the ones along the line. She also referenced her star field talisman to map out constellations. This made it easier to find the large stars hidden in the vast sky.

  Since she concentrated on the large stars in her star field, the probability of striking the ones with a greater area proved successful. She raised her hand and brought it closer to her eyes with the index finger pointing skyward.

  "Channeling mana into spiritual power and channeling it into a spell is nearly the same. A spell requires knowledge of the chant and a keen understanding of the elements."

  She peered at the space above her finger while focusing.

  "Chu said for fire I need to imagine something called Oxygen. It is present all around but mostly in the air."

  Dyna concentrated on her finger while thinking about her mana swirling and grinding roughly against each other like a millstone.

  "Heat! Need more heat so rub to create a spark. Rub, rub!"

  She willed her mana to flow out under the same basis as spiritual power but changed its properties to creating friction. Just when she decided to stop, a wavering red flame ignited above her finger.

  "Ahhh! Amarok! Witness the genius of your young master!"

  Dyna scrambled up using her left hand to support her right as if holding something precious. The flame flickered repeatedly in the light wind but never stopped burning.

  As a product of her own mana, the heat didn't affect her. She contemplated running towards the wagon when she paused while frowning.

  "Wait... How come I didn't need to chant a long spell to create this?!"