The evening sun was creating long shadows, painting a black and white picture in the lake. Unlike before, somehow there was a clearing two hundred meters away from the lake. But it was far from simple. A lotus, with ten clear and almost a hundred unclear petals, was at the center, made from gashes on the ground. This piece of art was created by sword practice, and Kant was admiring it, standing over a tall tree.
'Looks beautiful. I wonder how it will look from the air.'
But then he proceeded with his real work, which was to meet Sharv. He found Sharv meditating under a large Banyan tree near the lake.
"So you marked your territory already, huh?" Kant joked.
"Welcome, welcome. But you're wrong." Sharv opened his eyes, an amiable smile on his lips. "I am just a guest here, practicing my sword. The territory belongs to my friend, Vyaghra."
"Who? You made a friend… here…?" Kant couldn't hide his surprise.
But to his shock, a large tiger came out from behind the tree. Kant shot up from his sitting position to standing, his sword out. The tiger, though, looked at Sharv and just purred, if one could call it that.
"THAT'S YOUR FRIIIIEEND?"
"Yeah," Sharv agreed with a sigh. "Sit down, both of you," he added, patting the tiger's head. The tiger sprawled out nonchalantly, but Kant, this time, maintained a distance and kept his guard up. "You see, when I came here yesterday, I found Vyaghra sitting under the same tree. I immediately thought it was his territory, so I asked him to stay. And he asked for a one-strike duel and some guidance if I won, as according to him, I was strong. And here I am, after the duel," Sharv explained.
"He speaks?" Shockers never ended for Kant.
"Not like us, but if you can understand, he can talk through PRĀNÀ."
"Can all animals do that?"
"Not necessarily. Only those with higher affinity or sentience—I don't know the exact criteria—can."
"Ohhh," Kant exasperated as if he had gained the ultimate knowledge. "Well, whatever. I came here to talk about the plans."
Kant now sat comfortably as the tiger was already almost asleep. "You see, the city knights have been mobilized, and the security has been increased since your battle."
"Are they coming to the forest?"
"No, just in the city."
Sharv pondered for some seconds and then asked, "Do you know when Marshal Jay will come?"
"I have heard he will come back tomorrow."
"Then come and take me to the base after his arrival. How are your injuries, by the way?"
"If I didn't know better, I wouldn't believe I was injured," Kant said, flexing his healed arm. "I came here with some other questions."
"Ask away."
"You said that if the commanders yesterday had used cursed techniques on me, I would have died. But how did you survive? As far as I know, cursed techniques don't care for Chakra mastery," Kant put forth the first doubt he had.
"You're right. But I survived because of my breathing technique, not through Chakra mastery," Sharv explained.
"Hmm, can you tell me the technique?"
"Of course. But you can't use it unless you master the first five Chakras." Kant just nodded, so Sharv continued, "You see, there is not a single thing in this world without PRĀNÀ. Even stones, trees, mountains, and rivers have PRĀNÀ, just a little different from ours."
Kant was listening with eagerness.
"But in living bodies, PRĀNÀ is held by Nadis, in which it flows like blood flows in veins, and is held by the body itself. That's why your body is called a vessel. But it is kept under a lot of pressure, unlike the worldly PRĀNÀ, which helps you gather a lot of it in a comparatively small body. But what if someone corrupts your vessel and does not let it pressurize or bind the PRĀNÀ?"
"Then PRĀNÀ will leak outside, out of control."
"Yes, and that is the primary cursed technique of Voidhearts. And what I did was use all five elements to create a pure PRĀNÀ shell around me and then pressurize it using the elements to a higher level than the pressure inside my body. This creates an opposite condition, and the worldly PRĀNÀ enters your body through the corrupted, undefined vessel. It increases healing to the point where the Nadis themselves, and thus the vessel too, are healed. But creating the shell itself takes too much out of you."
"That's incredible!" Kant cheered. "There are numerous people in our organization who died because of Voidhearts and their curses. Can you elaborate on the shell creation process?"
"Sure, but I don't think anyone can replicate or learn it easily," Sharv said nonchalantly, but Kant's face turned solemn hearing about the difficulty. "First, I attract and condense the air around me. Then I heat my body and release some moisture, which helps in increasing PRĀNÀ conductivity and attuning the worldly PRĀNÀ to mine. Then I lock the space around me and close it to the earth below, if I am on the ground."
"That's quite a tiring process and one which needs utmost mastery. But why do you attune the PRĀNÀ?"
Kant asked, oblivious to the intricacies of the process.
"That is a good question for a beginner," Sharv commented, which almost hurt Kant's pride as he had already mastered Earth. But he didn't say anything because he had seen Sharv use his Chakras, and he really was a beginner compared to that.
"Everyone has the same PRĀNÀ, but it is also exclusive to them as it is tuned to their soul, vessel, nature, and many other unexplained things. No two living beings have exactly the same PRĀNÀ, except for trees and the world PRĀNÀ. The PRĀNÀ of plants can easily be tuned to yours as they lack sentience like other beings. That is the reason we Keepers—and it is not much of a secret—mostly and generally eat plant-based food. And as you increase your Chakra mastery, your need for food goes down as you directly consume PRĀNÀ for survival, so after some time, we only eat plant-based food to keep our PRĀNÀ clean," Sharv again explained in detail. Even the tiger was listening now, and he growled in dissatisfaction to show that he couldn't eat plant-based food. But Kant had his mouth open.
"What do you mean it's not a secret? I have never heard of it. We consume as much meat as possible to increase power," he said.
"Well, that will definitely help you increase physical prowess. But here we are talking about PRĀNÀ," Sharv shrugged.
"Yeah, I believe you," Kant said, his tone betraying his disbelief. "We've had enough of this serious conversation. Why did you draw that beautiful lotus?"
Sharv looked towards the clearing where some peacocks had come down and inspected the new gashes for food.
" Oh that is my signature move, which I have been developing for a long time. It is not yet what I want it to be but I think it can be used after one more session of practice."
" That looks like a fascinating move." Kant admired but then stopped to think." May I ask something personal?" He said after a few seconds.
" There is no harm in asking. But the answer will depend on me."
" Why do your Chakras change color?" Kant asked awkwardly.
" Hmmm, that is a well kept secret, open only to Keepers and to their apprentices if they take any. Those who know it are hunted down by the people in power, wherever they may be. But I will tell you one thing ' It shows that we have mastered the Chakras properly - through right ways and techniques.'" Sharv shut up after saying his part.
" I am really grateful for letting me in on that secret but won't probe further." Kant tried to stay serious but his jolly side slipped out, " You know I really want to live. I haven't even married yet."
Sharv looked at him like one looks at a mischievous child. But Kant was in his flow, " Rest up. I'll come back tomorrow." Sharv just nodded and then looked at Vyaghra, " We are alone again. What do you say, should I show you the technique one more time?"
To which Vyaghra just growled. " 'Whatever' you say, then why were you observing intently when I was practicing?"
Vyaghra turned away to save his face and Sharv moved to the clearing to practice.
*****
In a golden office, the familiar duo of City Magistrate and shadowy spy man were discussing future and current plans.
" Marut," the magistrate spoke, " All the four ward chiefs are on high alert and knights are up for patrol duty. I will go to District headquarters tomorrow for the emergency meeting. You will have to handle everything here and keep it under control. If something extraordinary happens, follow the protocols and ensure your safety. We need information in any condition."
" As you command, Marshal." The shadowy man vanished after saying this, leaving the magistrate rocking back and forth in his chair.