Spiritmancy class with Xue!

[15:03] "I am Xuelian Bei-Feng, and the is Kiemi'a. We are Shamans from Moxtli, and this is a class tied to Moxtli's Culture. As well as a few things with unlocking one's potential with the power of one's own Essence.

The first thing to note is Spirits come in many forms. Wisps being Animal Spirits. Essence which are our's. Elementals, nature spirits. The Idols which oversee the Spirit Realms, then Divine Spirits which are the strongest.

Today we will talk about Divine Spirits first! A topic I've never talked about yet.

Let's start with Asena and Saekanis, Asena I will use first. Then we will go into basic exercises.

Asena, the White Wolf, is the creator of the Ookami race, and the Divine Spirit of Summer. This mysterious entity is known as the Spirit of the Wild or the Great Wolf Spirit, and is one aspect of the dual aspects of nature. Her counterpoint is Saekanis. Asena represents Summer and the beginning. Creation, life, games, and growth of plants are all in her domain. Saekanis controls Winter, destroying the weak and feeble. Where Asena is the beginning, Saekanis is the end, and legend says that the two wolves follow each other around Eternia and so we have the passage of time and seasons.

She believes in the survival of the world above all else, then the survival of one's self, then kinsmen. She's a being that respects reason and logic, and stated she may not even understand the concept of emotions.

There are many theories regarding as to why Asena created the Ookami. Many believe that the Ookami are Asena's chosen warriors, meant to protect the land from the many threats that might imbalance the elements, others believe they are the eyes and ears of Asena. Though some have also called it... a curse, but that's more a debate. I'll let you record all that before moving on." He stated, it was a lecture fore sure at the start. He didn't go too much into detail of Moxtli's cultural aspects yet... That was for after the Divine Wolves.
(Xuelian Bei-Feng)
[15:11] "It's a pleasure to meet you again Professor Bei-Feng!"

Being courtesy, he bowed politely before removing his tome from his ruck sack.

Moving to crack it open, Eliphas thumbed through the pages, skimming over an endless list of full pages before reaching towards the end to fall upon an empty parchment to write on.

With the title of Spiritmancy, he'd begin.

Word for word, the Aegeus summarized. Making sure to make key notes on the specific points that he wanted to draw attention too, or even question about as he was relatively new to the art. The basics was something anyone could understand, but for him? He wanted to learn more, know more about the sacred art so he could develop it for himself.

His father was able to control the spirits, and so was Saga. It was only natural for him to follow lead!

As his head dipped in and out, he finally came to an end without any questions upon the manner. Yet, he waited for the next part of the lecture!
(Eliphas Aegeus)
[15:20] Xue stretched as he did this lecture by memory, this was mostly do to the EXTENSIVE study of this for Shaman things... And now Head Shaman things. Work was piling but he would still TEACH. This was his other passion besides dance.

"I hope you enjoy the information as we move onto the second part of Saekanis- This is far darker BUT neither Saekanis or Asena are evil nor good. They are a life cycle, a balancer to each other. You'll see here in a moment. You'll see it's similar to Taoism- If you know about this, it's a Sheng religion to find balance with in your life!

Saekanis, the Black Wolf, is one of the few Godlike entities that came about after Kraus' initial creation of Eternia, the Divine Spirit of Winter. It is it the counter-part to the Ookami's main deity of worship; Asena. Where Asena is Summer, Saekanis is Winter. Where Asena is birth, Saekanis is death. Asena is the beginning, and Saekanis the end. The two balance each other. One does not seem to be able to exist without the other.

Saekanis's domains are emotions, death (in the physical sense, worshippers do not believe that Saekanis seems to have interest in shepherding the souls of the dead) entropy and chaos (and ultimately destruction). A lack of interest in the souls of the dead could be due to the fact that Saekanis represents the destruction inherent in nature, as necessary to be recycled by Asena for life once more.

Some may attribute this spirit with plague and natural disasters. Death, entropy, chaos. BUT ALSO Fortune. Good and bad. The good luck comes from your enemies suffering the bad.

While Asena can't understand emotion... Saekanis is overly emotional, this is also relative to the exercises. To master your Essence to connect with the Spirit Realms you can't be pure like a Fairy... So we need a balance and move from there. You may find something for you.

Spirits of the Five Dragon rule over the elements- Three beasts for the Sun, Moon, and Stars. So there is one out there that CAN help you in some way. All ten give a true balance for us in stability, much like these two are balancing each other. I'll go over the balance in a moment."
(Xuelian Bei-Feng)
[15:28] Eliphas continued to jot down notes.

Blue hues flickered from the pages to Xuelian every so often as their hand glided across the pages. Moving about as ideas formulated in his mental. Part of the lecture was common knowledge, while majority of it did go into detail and helped to explain the complicities of the two divine creatures.

Something that would definitely help him if someone were to ever ask him about the two spirits!
(Eliphas Aegeus)
[15:34] "Well, this is going smoothly... And that's a great question! I'll get to that in the next part!

While people might attempt to attribute good and evil to Asena and Saekanis, in truth the two aspects of nature are beyond such things. They are non-moral entities.

Saekanis is a hungry deity, held in check only by Asena. Conversely, without Saekanis, Asena may well see the world turned into a very static state, potentially leading to her own corruption. There must be destruction and entropy for Asena to recycle into new things and for the world to continue existing. Without it, nothing would die and the matter could not be formed into new life. The world would stagnate. Believers know that the many little laws of nature, the passage of the seasons, exist to keep Saekanis and Asena in check. The two balance each other.

Therefore, those who follow strictly the will of one or the other are often inbalanced, with one favoring unchecked creation and unlimited protection and the other wanting mass destruction - perhaps to the extent of the world itself. Sole worship of either one is highly discouraged, but generally more accepting of those who wish to seek Asena's aid.

Worshipping one can lead to odd practices- Even for Moxtli… For Saekanis extremists you may see cannibalism. Being ruled by one's emotions for better or worse... A Chaotic lifestyle that I DON'T recommend, though it's a Berserker's dream deity.

While Asena uses logic, reason. Survival of the fittest, they believe in survival- I believe in one's survival above all else." He stated revealing his locket- One bless by Asena herself. He was... in a sort of way connected to her greatly.

"While I have emotions... I'd rather act with reason and tact. Though I still HAVE emotions though I know some people think I am an emotionless heartless b- person." Caught himself before saying bitch, crisis adverted!

"Moxtli's culture is UPHOLDING that balance while not shifting it too far in someone's favor. You can't have one side of the coin, if you did... Well you'd either get destruction of everyone or nothing would end. You'd grow bored, eventually your brain would reach a compacity where you'd stop remembering things.

Which leads to the Exercise after this!"
(Xuelian Bei-Feng)
[15:42] Taking a step back, Eliphas plopped himself towards the floor.

Pressing his back against the oak tree while pulling hisan knee towards his chest.

His thumb clicked the end of the pen as he thought about the handful of information that Xue had provided for them, especially the part about how an individual who worships sakeanis could find themselves learning about a chaotic lifestyle through worship of cannibalism.

Moving his hand forward, he continued to jot down a couple of notes before finally coming to a close.
(Eliphas Aegeus)
[15:52] Xue focused on his locket, it allowed him to see spirits but... Summoning something other than wisps took more. His eyes closed, his armored leggings? These ones showed his feet for dancing, the earth itself he was connect to.

"We will be starting with basic meditation- You have to focus on the negatives in your life. Accepting your hate, regrets, the things on your mind that keep you up at night, and fears... And letting them flow- They can't RULE your life.

You OWN your life, you'll be placing rules on yourself subconsciously and not letting loose your freedom. This allows you to realize you control YOUR life, no one else. You survive, be free, and you unlock that potential after you get over those mental blocks." He answers Ems's question next, "No, for Asena can't exist without Saekanis. They only have counter balances, though Asena's enemy are those disrupting the balance.

The balance must be upheld. AND maybe Belial as they sealed him in the moon for being a lunatic." Pun intended, maliciously intended.

He took a step- Spiritual energy in the form of an aurora's light, a prismatic circle like a water ring as he began to do a simple dance. The water in the air flowing towards the ocean- It was reacting to his mana in the same illumination of the light spectrum. It was shining over the people around.

A chant followed!

"Tlalli, Great Toad Spirit, hear my call. For this exercise today- We need your guidance of Wisdom and Spiritual Attunement. Inspire us with your Intuition- Help me out to help me in my cause, my Oath to teach."

Each step of the prismatic spectrum eventually had his fairy like aura flare up, his spiritual light as he synced with each step. The droplets caused the water to illuminate and form the toad out of the sea water. Xue's aura stops entirely as he paused, nodding. The toad began leaping over the sea spreading that light before leaping over head... A quick burst as the spiritual light rained down yet... No one was wet.

"Now- Start the meditation exercise... After you feel content class will be dismissed."
(Xuelian Bei-Feng)
[16:14] Eliphas's hand flew freely!

He continued to write before being forced to flip a page and continue on it's backside. He couldn't help but think that now this is what would actually aid the students into learning the art itself.

The corner of his lips pulled slight, smirking at Xue's teaching methods.

It didn't take a genius, but anyone could see how this was a beginners class. They started off with an introduction, even going as far to explain the two main spirits that are worshipped within Moxtli and explaining their balance with one n another.

He understood, even from before this lecture. That the two weren't specifically good or evil. They were neutral. While Saekanis claimed lives over eternia, Asena simply maintained the balance, allowing creatures to live and flourish while also not seeking favoritism. Which he found odd but that was how the world worked!

One claimed summer, while the other brought winter. Yin and Yang.

"Huh..."

A light shined in the Aegeus's eye as he looked to Xue in a new found light.

They spoke about coming to peace within oneself. Not allowing any earthly attachments or anything on the physical plane to hold them down, that they needed to live from themselves and that no one else could control their lives.

Something that he struggled with personally...

As he continued to listen to Xue's soft words, he watched as they soon fell into a dance.

Each step they took was full of grace, each leap and pound was full of power. At first glance, it would look like a simple dance, nothing spectacular about it or noticeable.

But as they continued, as he sat there watching.

He felt the power resonating off of their form. Each twirl, each stride, it spoke volumes that words couldn't describe. Eliphas felt entranced by the dance as an aurora-like aura flourished around the spiritdancer as the danced with elegance.

Lips parted, he watched with awe. Admiration showing brightly in his eyes as he witnessed the spirits move around in Xuelian's spiritual light.

Eliphas stared in awe, how the spirits moved in syncornized movements with Xuelian. As if they were moving to an imaginary song!

Even more so! he was finally able to witness spirits first hand, something that was always a dream, had finally became a reality. Something that allured him to the movement as his head moved in rhythm with Xue's dance.

All of it, was too much to absorb at once, he remained captivated by it, all until the water bursted down upon everyone but everyone remained dry.

He smiled, blown away by the experience before finally closing his eyes to meditate and look inwards to himself. To reflect on his past actions and to think upon what he just saw. Everything that had taken part in his life, he'd begin to look back on.

And he would try to accept the person who he is.
(Eliphas Aegeus)
[16:19] Xue stretches, "My next class will go over using said balance, through a Spiritual Attunement.

I know... Some of your lives have more stress than others... Some of you may find it harder than others. Over all, I... get those who find this tough or excruciating. Dallan Aegeus taught me these exercises long ago, as did his mentor as well as my mentor. Former Head Shaman, Balam Meztin.These exercises for me were... terrifying, what I went through when I was young was something no one should have to experience. So- Even if you can't believe you can do it. Even if you feel the world is against you.

I believe in you, even if I can't always be there. The only reason I can do this today are special people that were there for me." Looking up a bit- Three of them... Dead. Howl, Toratori, Aaron. He went silent out of respect.

"Two of those people are here today, Kiemi'a and the one whom... If he wasn't there I'd have been a personwho hated people and the world.

Thorn." He stated with a bright smile talking about the two.

"Now, class is dismissed and remember the lessons of today they tie into the others. All of you, have the best day you can. Everyday."
(Xuelian Bei-Feng)
[17:38] Taking a breath, he tried to block everything out.

He remembered from his first lessons with Saga, when it came to meditation. That he needed to look inwards. To concentrate on himself and to find a piece of mind.

But as time went on, he couldn't help but find himself lost in his own thoughts!

Regrets, guilt, hatred and anger, things that he wish he could've done, the things that he wish he could've said. The times where he failed those he loved, and the times that he could've spent with his father than stay at home.

All of his pain attacked him at once.

His breathing ragged as his brow furrowed. An empty feeling lingered in his stomach as he felt his heart drop. Sinking as he found himself falling into his negative thoughts.

"Mother..." his voice strained. "Father..." he silently sobbed as he bit down on his teeth.

At this age of eighteen, he couldn't even remember their faces...

There was a lot of things that Eliphas regretted, but the one thing he hated the most.

Was himself.

He was constantly at war with himself. Perhaps if he was smarter, quicker, brighter. Something! He constantly felt like he was the one to be blamed for his deaths. Maybe if he understood a bit more, acknowledged the situation and called his father back... Would they have still been there? Would Dallan be with them, today?

He could only think of one thing, that there had to be a reason for his parents to leave him behind. He knew a bit of their distrust. Their hardships, and their struggle. But was all of that worth it? To leave him behind? To move onto the afterlife while leaving him here?

He always felt like he wasn't good enough. That he wasn't strong enough, that he wasn't smart enough. So he constantly studied, constantly found ways to rival others. To surpass their strengths, be it by enchanting himself with runes, by consuming boosters, or by using what ever methods he could in a battle to get ahead. Even Saga helped him with her strict tutoring, helping him kept up on the top of his class, knowledgeable in each subject that could ever be thrown at him. He held manners, carried himself with grace, and constantly tried to push himself towards the top. He wore his name proudly, but stepped back whenever he found it necessary. Eliphas wanted to prove the world wrong, to seek vengeance for his parents deaths, for all the horrors that befell them.

But he wanted to do it in the right way.

It was a struggle for him, especially with the disability that was born with, but he knew in the end. That everything would've been worth it. Because then he would have the strength to do what must be done right? His parent's were slaughtered, paraded through the city and celebrated as people who fell underneath the machines heel.

Something that pained his heart to this day.

Ambrose, Rigs, Seifer and their family all appeared before him, laughing at him. Tormenting his visions as he sat back in pain. Their words attacked him pushing him back, deeper and deeper as he cowered away. The walls of Achyon rose before him. Towering over him and showing him how truly insignificant he was.

He wanted to hide away, run away, but there was no where to go. The feeling of his parents leaving him behind, the feeling of him backing down, the feeling of Ambrose's power compared to his own, to the creature known as Rigs that narrowly defeated him, for the constant threat of Seifer and Zhrani. All of it attacked him at once.

Water flowed free as he sat there with his back against the wall. As his body turned and shifted, unbeknownst to him that everything was an imagination. All he knew was that he felt weak. Irrelevant, that he would remain a failure from this moment on.

As all of this was going on in his head, he felt an appearance beside him. A blinding blue light appeared, flooding the scenery before his very eyes and wiping away all of his horrors. His failures, his doubts. It was so bright that even he had to close his eyes!

Moments would pass and as he reopened his eyes, he'd come to find that he was standing in a familiar room. Something that he couldn't quite place a finger on, yet he welcomed him with warmth.

Taking a step forward, he'd look around. Eyeing the various items in the room before he fell upon two blurred figures that stood before him.

Curious, he parted his lips. But to no avail would words come out. Struggling to find a way to speak, the figures hovered in closer. One that looked distinctly like a woman while the other looked like a man.

Moving to raise a hand, he'd wave at the two as they moved closer.

One bounced forward, learning towards him while smiling. While the other one looked at him from afar from giving an approving nod.

Frightened, Eliphas hesitantly considered stepping away from them. But the moment he'd try, the woman;y figure jumped forwa
(Eliphas Aegeus)
[17:38] And it was in that moment, that he realized who they were.

Choking up, he reached forward to hug. But the moment he came into contact with them, their image began to fade, their touch bleeding away from his own as the scenery around them pulled itself away!

He wanted to scream out, he wanted to call them back. To spend more time with them, but no matter how hard he tried to pull them back. It wouldn't work. But as he found himself warping back to reality, he heard the two figures say three final words to him in their departure.

"We love you."

Tears flowed free from his eyes as he woke up from his meditation.

Turning around, he'd find himself alone. Everyone cleared out, and yet. Those few words that he received. Was all that he needed to know that he was doing the right things. That all of his choices up until this point weren't wrong. That his parents were proud of him, and for that? He felt satisfied in himself, knowing that his parents would move every step of his journey with them.

They didn't leave him... They were always beside him, watching him.
(Eliphas Aegeus)