Now that I have had my fun messing with Elder Hue across from me, I figure its time to really try to figure something out about this Qi and all their strange ways of referencing it.

  "Elder Hue, I have many many questions about Qi, and the different Techniques people seem to reference. Would we be able to talk about that?"

  "We shall talk about that at a later date, I'll be to the point, this visit was to learn about this Technique you have just shown me. I don't understand what your affinity is, or where you obtained it. Your Qi affinity I mean."

  "What's an Affinity?"

  This seems to make the Elder concerned for some reason, as he just stares at me like I was the one to say something strange.

  "Hmmm, from the basics then I guess..." he briefly stretches out before taking a more comfortable position. "An affinity is the nature of a person's Qi. This affinity is usually attributed to the type of Qi they are best able to absorb. For instance, Old Feng here" He gently ruffles Grandpa's fur again for emphasis. "Old Feng has an affinity for earth attuned Qi. It is easiest for him to absorb, and abundant in places with lots of nature, like the forests and Wilds that you all live in."

  "So Qi has different affinities tied to an Element?"

  "Yes, Qi grants itself an affinity to a natural Element over time depending on how much of that Element is in the area." He points up towards the sky. "You can find an almost infinite amount of Air elemental Qi up in the sky, some down here on the surface, and almost none down below the earth in caves and caverns. Earth Qi is the opposite way being as they are conflicting elements."

  A nod of my head is enough to show I understand the principle.

  "How many Elements are there then?"

  "Well, that is a debated topic amongst scholars like myself and many others. So far the basic agreement is there are 6 standard Elements. Fire, Earth, Air, Water, Light, and Dark. These Elements are further broken down into sub elements and possibly combined into higher elements, but THAT is where the arguments start."

  "Hmm..." I took a moment to think about this information. He takes this opportunity to stand and smile at me.

  "I will not lie to you, I want to study your capabilities more. You either possess a Higher Elemental affinity, or a sub affinity that is quite rare. I don't have any of my sects testing devices on me at the moment, I'm not at the level to be able to just take something that important and bring it out to a backwater village like this. If you would like to know more, you would have to come and visit the sect."

  As he is saying this, his guards that came with him start to walk around, waving their hands over the various cushions and furnishings, making them pop back into their storage rings with the feeling like a vacuum suddenly sucking in all the air where the object was.

  "Alas I cannot stay, duties to attend to and data to study. It was nice to meet you Dranau." He then turns to Susana, before making a small coin looking object appear in his own hand, and offering it to her. "It was nice to meet you as well little lady. Please take this token. If you are ever in need of help, show this to a guard in any local town and they will get someone to help you, okay?"

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  Susana just nods and takes the coin, holding it with her hands and looking it over on each side. The coin is made of some silvery looking metal, one side has a large bird of some sort on it, the other a simple picturesque river with a number beneath it. A neat looking coin to say the least. Susana then tucks it into a pocket before abruptly climbing onto my back and tugging at my ears. "Horsey ride!" With a sigh and a shake of my head I become her steed for the evening.

  --------------------------------

  After Elder Hue and his two guards left, and when it was finally time for Susana to go to bed, I found myself alone again, sitting with my thoughts in my definitely a stable. Grandpa must have lingered at the edge of town because it didn't take long after I settled down for the night for his head and voice to appear in the door of my home, scaring me out of my thoughts and into the present with a start.

  "Good night"

  "Hello Grandpa, or should I call you Feng?"

  "Grandpa is much to my preference. I am your sire's sire after all." He sits off to the side of the entrance, as I stand and walk the few steps over to sit next to him. He stares up at the night sky for a while enjoying the stars peeking through the evening twilight.

  "You must be confused about many things huh?"

  "That is an understatement."

  "If it makes you feel any better, everyone is confused. Me, Nasha, Talloe, even your siblings. You didn't follow the pattern."

  "I've been told that. I got a strange gift Dad said."

  Silence stretches for a long time. Minutes pass like seconds as I join Grandpa in staring at the now darkening, yet brightening sky. I watch in sheer awe as the sky seems to shimmer and shine brighter for a bit. My mind is blown wide open when the sun finally fully fades and I am able to watch as various stars of different brightness and color appear. Following those is a gaseous cloud that slowly wraps across the sky, a nebula if I remember my science lessons correctly.

  The nebula is a bright purple, the starts twinkling through, with a hazy fog like effect. The air seems to twist and bend with the light refracting through it, a whole kaleidoscope of color paints a picture in front of my eyes. I find myself wishing I had a camera or some way to take a picture of the scene.

  "Isn't it inspiring to look at?" Grandpa's voice snaps me out of my trance.

  "I wished I could capture this to look at whenever I want."

  "The sky only appears like this when the moon isn't out, and the sun has taken its rest."

  So only on the new moon nights are you able to see this.... neat.

  "The humans all hide away early on nights like tonight. Something about this night energizes us Spirit Beasts. My grandpa once told me that this is the night where the heavens bestow upon the land their Qi. And we beasts get the most out of it, as we are more apart of nature than the humans are."

  "Do you think that too?"

  "I do not know what I think on that. Its too big really. I like to keep myself grounded in the now and tomorrow. There is nothing I can do to change this night, so I just embrace the simple joy of watching it."

  That seems to be all he wants to say on the matter, as he goes silent and basks in the twinkling multicolored light show above us. His presence helps to center my thoughts and I find myself enjoying the company with the view of the sky.

  -------------------------------

  We watched the stars and the heavens most of the night in utter silence. I didn't even feel tired after staying up all night with him. There might of been something close to the truth about the night giving energy to us Spirit Beasts, but I feel no stronger, just a lot more relaxed. Star gazing was always a passion I enjoyed in my previous life, but never before had I seen something like that. I can't wait to see it again.

  Grandpa sticks around until just after sunrise before brushing against my side as he leaves with a simple "See you later". I don't need to respond. He knows where my den is after all, if he wants to visit I won't discourage him.

  I take my morning walk amongst the now empty fields. The villagers are preparing for their journey to the town of Lomburgy. I do not know if I should go with them this time. I don't want to cause any trouble. Maybe I should just to make sure they make it to town fine...

  My walk keeps me away from most of the villagers, patrolling along the edges of town, tracking the different scents and smells. One catches my attention as I circle around the northern side of town. What was my sister doing here?