Vae Victis - Chapter 27 (Patreon)

Through the Jungle

I spent the next day learning more about Shadow’s school of being. We didn’t have the time for him to do more than just teach me the basics. Still, there was a lot to learn. The most important part was perhaps the three principles behind the Heart of Azure and Scarlet. We were having a short break, which I used to review the lesson with my [A Lesson Remembered] skill, even though I didn’t yet understand everything, I wanted to learn. The lesson flashed inside my mind, the skill helping me remember it in great detail.

“A way of life requires dedication,” Shadow spoke as he began his instruction. “All things that grant power do. You cannot gain anything great without showing the Last Intent your willingness to sacrifice.”

I listened attentively again, in the memory Saia was sitting on the ground next to me and doing the same.

“To master the Heart of Azure and Scarlet you must fully accept its tenets, you must live and breathe them, embrace them fully,” he said, reiterating what he had already told me.

I only nodded, I had already made the decision to follow this path.

“In order for you to be recognized as a follower of this way of life, you must abide by its core principles, of which there are three. The first principle are the tenets, what I had already shared with you:

Ambition is the drive to achieve Greatness.

Emotion is the fuel that grants me Purpose.

Calm is the surrender to the will of Others.

Control is the shackle that robs me of Ambition.

I do not conceal my Ambition, I Relish.

I do not suppress my Emotion, I Embrace.”

He repeated the tenets. I still thought that they were somewhat tyrannical, but the more I thought about them, the more I could see a deeper meaning within them.

“The meaning of the words is for you alone to discover, how you understand them will shape your relationship with the Heart of Azure and Scarlet. The second principle are the rules, a sacrifice for the world. The Way, or perhaps the Grand Spell itself, recognizes when we make such offerings to the world. This is your personal sacrifice, and as such it should remain private. To give you an idea of what kind of a sacrifice I am talking about, it can be anything, from deciding that you will never again speak, to deciding that you will never again wear blue colored clothes.”

I blinked, that sounded like a vow. “That seems, I don’t know, easy?”

Shadow shook his head. “Some sacrifices are greater than others, but do not mistake them for being easy. The Way knows your heart, how powerful the school of being you adopt ends up being, will depend on your dedication to it. Let us use my previous idea as an example—you decide not to wear blue colored clothes for the rest of your life as your rule, but, you already hate the color blue. Well, then the world will recognize the depth of your sacrifice, and your connection to the Way and your school of being will reflect that. Obviously that was not a great sacrifice, and with such shallow rule you will never scratch more than the surface of the school of being with it.”

“How do I decide something like that?” I asked.

“You just make a decision and start doing it until it becomes second nature,” Shadow answered.

I nodded, trying to think about something deeper that I could do. I would need to think about it a bit.

“You need not decide now, nor do you need to start with a great rule. You can decide on something smaller and easier, then just add more rules as you go on,” Shadow said, interrupting my thoughts. “It will take you a long time to learn enough of the basics in order for the Way to recognize you as someone who follows the Heart of Azure and Scarlet.”

“Wait,” I tilted my head. “How is this going to help us survive, If it will take a long time for me to learn anything?”

“I am preparing you not just for surviving the coming days, but also the return to your home. The truth is that you will need to teach yourself based on what you learn from me now. I am no Teacher, but I hope that your Student Ornament is enough to help you learn better. As far as helping us survive now, well, you are already very strong, you just don’t know how to effectively use what you have. Which brings us to the last principle of the Heart of Azure and Scarlet: the two combat styles, and what I will focus on teaching you.”

I came out of the lesson and shook my head. Shadow sat on the ground, his eyes closed, still napping. I had seen just how exhausted he had gotten from just a few hours of physical activity, so I decided to let him sleep. I took advantage of the time to mentally review the rest of his instructions the old fashioned way.

After his talk about the principles, the lesson had turned more practical. We had spent most of the last day practicing the two styles. Shadow had started by describing to me the Azure and the Scarlet styles of combat. Both were focused on channeling emotions and not suppressing instinct. Transforming feelings into a source of strength and trusting natural instincts. It was a stark contrast to what I knew from Earth, the teachings that said that I should always seek to be calm and master myself. In a way, what Shadow taught was liberating, his approach was one of validating emotions.

The Azure Moon style was, like the symbolism of the moon above this world, rooted in ruthlessness, indifference, and solitude, drawing on the wielder's emotions to fuel their power. Shadow created the Azure Moon Style in a way that was characterized by powerful, heavy counter strikes and a solid defense, focusing on slow, deliberate, and highly controlled movements. It was based on fear as a natural instinct. Fear was an emotion that was experienced in response to a perceived threat, danger or harm.

And as he described what it was meant to achieve, I could see how it could apply to me as well.

Fear was an innate response that was hardwired into our brains, and it triggered a range of physiological and behavioral responses that are designed to protect us from harm.

From an evolutionary perspective, fear played a crucial role in the survival of our ancestors. The ability to detect and respond to potential threats allowed them to avoid danger and increase their chances of survival. Fear helped our ancestors to recognize and respond to predators, avoid dangerous situations, and escape from harm.

Fear was also closely linked to the fight-or-flight response, which was a physiological response that prepares the body for action in response to a perceived threat. This response involved the release of hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol, which increased heart rate, breathing rate, and blood pressure. This prepared the body to either fight the threat or flee from it.

True, a vampire’s response was slightly different. The thirst, or rather the Sanguinium Bacterium, was the one in charge, it still had a response to threats that had saved my life on numerous occasions. My sire had taught me that the thirst was something to be kept in check, always controlled. Yet… its purpose was to survive, the same as mine. Perhaps there was more to my own existence than I had previously believed.

Still, the Azure Moon Style relied on instinctual movement to draw the opponent out and force them to overextend, then ending the battle with a single powerful counterattack. It was brutal and efficient in a way that was ruthless.

The Scarlet Moon Style was rooted in survival, fervor, and righteous fury. It emphasized the importance of channeling one's emotions to enhance their combat prowess. The Scarlet Moon Style did not control or suppress emotions, but instead embraced and harnessed them, using those feelings to fuel a relentless aggression.

It relied on anger and rather than focusing on defense, the Scarlet Moon Style aimed to dominate the battle by relentlessly attacking, wearing down adversaries, and exploiting any openings to inflict critical damage with no regard for defense.

I understood anger, you couldn’t live without knowing it, not in the place I had lived most of my life, having the life that I had. I’ve seen its power, how motivating it could be, how it turned small villages forgotten by their governments into a force to be reckoned with. I saw how anger could be a catalyst for change, how it could motivate individuals to address the source of their frustration and injustice.

I had also seen the anger of others used by those who had seen the opportunity for their own gain.

Anger was a powerful emotion, one that I had experience with. I had experienced anger overwhelm me before, and had acted without thinking. I felt the power it could give me. The now faint pain around my neck and the scar that would remain there perhaps forever was a constant reminder of what could happen when one just acted out of anger.

Yet, I couldn’t deny that anger was a big part of what motivated me now. I didn’t want to get rid of my anger, didn’t want to suppress it, I only wanted to learn how to channel it properly.

Shadow had gone through and showed me the basic stances along with the ways one had to move while practicing these styles. They had to adjust the styles, of course, neither style was made for a vampire but a Tsu-gi, someone who had tails, his center of balance was a lot different than mine was. And that wasn’t even accounting for the way that his Mask and skills differed from mine. He had developed the two styles when he had already been an established fighter, honing his skills to near perfection.

He had demonstrated only two techniques for me, one from each style, which were what had exhausted him so. And even with him telling me that what he had showed me was not the full demonstration of what the Azure Moon and the Scarlet Moon Styles represented, I was… awed.

His skills allowed him to create illusions of mists, or even full copies of himself that were indiscernible from the original. Coupled with his natural ability to make anyone hallucinate, it was a terrifying combination.

But what truly impressed me was the way he was able to immediately adapt his styles to something that I could use. I didn’t have skills that allowed me to create illusions, but I was a vampire with near perfect coordination, incredible regeneration, and great physical control over my body. And Shadow had leaned into those aspects to devise a way for me to learn.

So, the Azure Moon Style was the more defensive one, based on using his illusions and pheromone tricks to draw an opponent out for a counterattack, became something else. Using my coordination and control, I too could trick my opponent by letting them win trades that were inconsequential to me. Instead of using illusions, I could just allow my opponent to wound me in places that I could heal from with ease, making them grow bolder and overextend in order to crush them when they made a mistake.

The Scarlet Moon Style relied on speed and attacks, creating illusions that constantly forced the opponent to back step, hammering in at their defenses and piercing through them through sheer overwhelming offense. Shadow relied on his copies to attack from several directions, and used his tricks to fool his opponents into misjudging his attacks. Again, the way that he adapted his style was based on my main strength, my regeneration. I could allow myself to disregard wounds and focus on offense, mimic what he accomplished with illusions.

In the end, the Azure Moon Style ended up being difficult for me to grasp. And while both styles had overwhelming the opponent as the ultimate goal, the Scarlet Moon Style was the one that suited me far more. The Scarlet Moon Style was a death by a thousand cuts, compared to the single monstrous strike of the Azure Moon Style.

Next to me, Shadow stirred, and I got ready to continue the lessons.

* * *

“That is looking good,” Shadow said as he walked around me then took a position directly across from me. “Your stance is passable. Now let me see what you have learned.”

I resisted the urge to glare at him and focused on the matter at hand. I had taken the opening form of the Scarlet Moon Style technique he was teaching me, the Veiled Mist Assault. My body leaned forward with most of my weight on my right leg, which was in front of the left, bent and with the knee hovering over my toes. My hands were crossed in front of my face, my fingers bent into claws. It was an aggressive position, and one that allowed me to leap into action in a moment.

The Veiled Mist Assault had three forms, or Katas. The first Kata, and the one I was in was called: From the Mist, Strike, was meant to be used when attacking from an ambush. It was designed to present a smaller profile, while still keeping your muscles tense and ready for action. The technique aimed to catch the opponent off-guard and create a favorable advantage from the onset of the encounter. Of course, that wasn’t the case here, but I still executed it.

With a sudden movement, I leapt forward, lashing out at him with with my claws in a one-two strike. He dashed back, evading, and I followed, moving into the second Kata, Tempest in the Mist. I never stopped moving as I entered the second form, letting my emotions guide my attacks, rapidly spinning and attacking from multiple angles, creating a flurry of attacks that carried explosive power and seamlessly chained multiple rapid strikes. With my physical attributes, that came easily to me. I let my instincts and emotions guide me, which made my body move in a wild manner that allowed me to unleash a torrent of devastating blows. It was meant to be a follow up to the first Kata, a devastating attack following the emergence from an obscured position, like a tempest appearing from the mist.

He didn’t block, instead his body weaved, evading my strikes. I still couldn’t catch him, so I moved to the last Kata, Advance, Whirling Mist. I lashed out with my right hand, a spinning strike that Shadow moved to evade. Just before my strike finished its full range of movement, I threw myself at him and stepped. [Mist Step] turned me to mist and my momentum carried me forward at an incredible speed, bridging the gap that Shadow’s evasion created. My step finished, and I reformed in the same position I was before. My attack finished its arc, with almost no time left for him to react. My claws swiped across his chest, and he dissolved into mist.

I caught myself and stopped, too surprised to do anything but glare as his body disappeared in front of my eyes.

“That was… passable,” Shadow said from behind me, and I whirled around to look at him. “Let’s go again,” he just said.

I opened my mouth, then promptly closed it. I ignored the beads of sweat on his brow and did as he said, settling again in the starting form of the technique.

* * *

We moved through the jungle at a quick pace. And I kept my eyes open for any threats from my position at the front. Which was how I saw the threat long before it noticed us. I knelt quickly behind a large root, taking cover and then gestured behind me. I looked ahead at the dark shape milling around a base of a tree. Its snout was low to the ground, sniffing, and then it tilted its head and stabbed its tusks into the root. It raised its head, breaking the root apart and making room to put its head beneath and retrieve whatever it was that it had found. I watched as it ate the mushroom-like plants, then slowly started meandering about. I gripped the glaive in my hand tightly and got ready just in case it noticed us. It sniffed around a few more times, and then, thankfully, wandered away.

I released a sigh as it left, then turned and glanced at Shadow. He was hiding just behind me, holding the serpent-tongue spear in his hands. The big trunk that contained most of his equipment and supplies placed on the ground next to him, and his eyes were on the jungle around us. The animal was the same as the one that I had killed while consumed by the thirst. The animal itself wasn’t strong enough to really pose a threat, it was something that I was confident I could’ve handled, but we didn’t want to fight anything if we could help it. In fact, we had been avoiding most of the wildlife as we made our long trek through the jungle. Aside from the few hunts to gather blood for myself. And those consisted of mostly of me climbing through the trees looking for nests to grab bird-like creatures while they slept.

“Let’s go,” I said and he nodded, following after me. I knew that we couldn’t afford to stay in the same place for too long.

We set out again, moving as quickly as possible through the jungle, while also remaining as stealthy as possible. We wanted to avoid making a noise and drawing attention, or getting delayed by unnecessary obstacles. We left the ruins days ago, after Shadow spent a week teaching me about his way of life. My Student Ornament had improved up to the 5th Carving, though I haven’t gotten any new skills from it yet.

I have learned as much as I could. He taught me two techniques from each of the two styles, for a total of four. Of course, I haven’t gotten really proficient in anything that he taught me, but at least I understood the basics. I lacked a lot of the tools that made those techniques complete, like the skills that he had, but he assured me that over time I will find my own to replace them. And that if I followed his school of being fully, eventually I would earn skills of my own. By executing actions that were perfect and resonated with the world, whatever that meant.

I had no choice but to trust him.

As we walked through the jungle, I turned my eyes to the sky. We’ve reached an opening in the big canopy, which let me see the clouds above. It was early morning, so my strength was lessened, which meant that we didn’t want to get involved in any fights.

I kept my head turned up, scanning the skies.

“She should have been back by now,” Shadow commented.

I grimaced and nodded. Saia had been scouting for us. I wasn’t really worried, the little dragon part of her wasn’t really her, it was just a drone. Her real body was inside of mine, though with our synchronization so low she could only communicate with me through her drone. Which made things a bit more difficult, if anything had happened there was no way for Saia to let me know.

Before I had a chance to think on it further, I saw a small shape above the tree line. Immediately, I released a sigh of relief as Saia made her way down. I put my hand out and she landed on my palm.

“What took you so long?” I asked.

“Feedback: The interference caused a confusion with the drone’s sensors, resulting in the drone unit heading the wrong way for several leagues.”

I tsked to myself. We didn’t know what was causing that interference, but it had happened before too. Once her drone was sufficiently away from me, she got some kind of a phantom signal that told her that I was in the wrong direction. Which frustrated Saia to no end, it should be impossible according to her. After all, she was nestled inside of my nervous system and was directly controlling the drone at a distance.

“What about our friend?” Shadow asked as he stepped closer.

Saia turned her tiny head to look at him. It wasn’t an action that was necessary, but I had noticed that Saia had started to do it more often after I suggested that it might make her seem more alive.

“Feedback: The sikiri is following, at its current pace it will catch up to us in three days.”

Shadow’s eyes narrowed then turned to look at me. He didn’t say anything, there wasn’t a need. I already knew. The beast had been following them since they left the ruins. They hadn’t been certain at the start, Saia had kept an eye on its movements from the sky—it wasn’t that hard to keep watch over a giant snake—but it quickly became apparent that it was somehow following after them.

“It will catch up with us before we reach the coast,” Shadow added slowly.

They had known that it was a possibility ever since Saia noticed the sikiri. They had tried to change direction, but always the sikiri had adjusted and followed.

“We can increase our pace again,” I suggested.

“Even this is pushing me to my limits,” Shadow sighed, he paused for a moment, then continued. “We both know that it is coming after me.”

I grimaced, I didn’t want to say it, but it seemed like the most likely explanation. The sikiri hadn’t noticed me when I was near it the last time I encountered it. It couldn’t be following me.

“There is still a chance that all of this was a coincidence,” I tried to hold on to some hope. After all, it hadn’t started moving after us until we left the ruins. There were things here that we weren’t aware of.

He shook his head. “No,” he said. “It is clear that it has a skill that lets it detect me somehow, a skill that tells it where the greatest threat is, or one that helps it detect high Investment.” He sat down on his trunk, his head bowed. “I could… leave in another direction, lead it away.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “Can you avoid it?”

“Of course,” he said, and I heard the lie in his voice. “I might be weakened, but I do not need to fight it. I can just hide.”

“That would leave us both alone in the jungle. You said that there are dangers here that could kill us both.”

“We have gotten far enough away from the inner ring that it is unlikely you will encounter anything that can really threaten you. And besides, you can just hide as well and run out the clock.”

“Which would leave you weakened and alone in the jungle without a way to the coast,” I added.

He waved his hand. “I will manage.”

I knew what he was trying to do, of course I did. So, I walked over and knelt in front of him. “We made an agreement, remember?” I said gently. I had learned a lot about him over our short time together. Enough to know that he was a man filled with regrets. Somehow, I knew that he didn’t want me to be another one of those regrets. “I’m not leaving you to die, I’ll honor my words.”

He opened his mouth to argue, but then paused at the look in my eyes. He held my gaze for a little while, then nodded. “Then, we need a plan. It will catch up to us one way or another. Better that we dictate where that happens.”

That I could agree with wholeheartedly.