OtH 1.08 - Apparently That Wasn't Enough Perspective

Some more cultivation novel for you folks, even if we haven't gotten to any actual cultivation yet. At least we learn a little about the mechanics in this chapter.

Right, so never going to mess with ziu if I can help it.

“I can see why it is controlled so heavily” Aarick said faintly.

Reodan nodded before he replied.

“It is not to be trifled with. Once you have acquired a sense for it, however, like you, it can be refined with out too much issue. The initial breakthrough requires exceptional circumstances.”

At some point he had sat down. He didn’t remember exactly when, but with Reodan still standing he felt a little awkward.

“Considering how I learned it, I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone.” Aarick muttered.

He’s not allowed to sit unless I give him permission, right? I count as his superior for sure right now. Plus, I think this counts as my home… I should ask.

Before he could, Reodan answered him.

“Considering it apparently involved exposure to the Eldritch and massive amounts of ziu,” he said dryly, “I think most cultivators would rather die. Ziu is… terrible and dangerous, but the Eldritch is even worse. Your resistance is apparently remarkable.”

“It was the most painful thing I could ever imagine feeling. It was so painful, but my mind was not allowed to go unconscious.” He replied with honest fervency as he shivered slightly. His eyes were lost to a vague horror for a moment, before he shook himself and got back to what he had meant to ask earlier. “Do these quarters count as my home for etiquette?”

“They do, with the exception of Lady Lurona, since they are a part of her estate. If she were to visit, you would need to treat it as her home. She could waive that, but since that is a more niche case I will let your tutors deal with it.”

“Okay, I would count as your superior anyway, I assumed, but I wanted to verify the situation in case it came up. You may sit down if you like. Give me a moment to think.”

He thought for a moment as Reodan sat down silently. Taking the time to think about their conversation, and what he had been discussing with Lurona. A few questions occurred to him.

Lurona was careful around the truth with the doctor, and based on what she told Reodan, I think she only told him truthful things as well. And she said I could honestly tell people I was from a place that they had never heard of.

Is that just a cultural aversion to lies, or is there something deeper? Words might have power here. It wouldn’t be the strangest form of magic.

He finally spoke, looking Reodan in the eyes where he was sitting in the chair across from him. His ramrod straight posture seemed to be accusing the plush furniture of being too soft.

“A few things Lurona said made it clear that she was telling the truth about something, and emphasized my ability to say things truthfully as well. Is there a reason for that?”

He nodded his head.

“Yes. Spirits, even demons, always tell the truth. Demons were originally closer to beings of qi than they were the earth. It was whythey were placed into the earth. The exact nature of demons is kept secret by The Empire, for good reason, but we know this much. If they had been sealed into the heavens it would only have made them stronger.

That doesn’t mean that they cannot deceive. They tell the truth from their own perspective. If a demon tells you something is a good idea, it is only a good idea from how they see the world. It doesn’t mean it would be good for you.

Regardless, as we cultivate and attempt to grow closer to the heavens, we also seek not to lie. Many believe any lies disrupt cultivation, and there is evidence for this to be true. As a minor noble, you will be held to this standard more firmly by your peers as well.”

He paused for a moment to sigh, his posture slumping slightly as though someone had melted the iron rod of his spine, before it sprung back firmly into place.

“Unfortunately, while lying is forbidden, nobility have made a game of making truthful statements that are entirely deceptive. You would be well served to practice.”

Aarick replied after a moment.

“You said that demons can talk and will deceive. When would they even get a chance to talk to anyone? You said they corrupt everything they get near. And I imagine no one would be willing to talk with them.”

“Mm,” he said. “Not entirely correct. Firstly, demons can act as disembodied spirits. They will seek to tempt people in that form. The barriers around the valley deny them entry, but of necessity cultivators are sent cull the beast populations outside the valley. Demons are almost powerless as spirits, and challenging to expel, so ignoring them is crucial.

When a person succumbs to a demon and their soul is ripped open, the demons can walk right through the barriers designed to keep them out.

And if you become a strong enough cultivator, you may well encounter and fight demons like that. They are well known for loving to talk. Your proven resistance makes it more likely you will be sent to deal with them if you are strong enough. Their tongues are just as much a weapon as any other part of them.”

Lightning flashed outside, though the clouds were the same as they had been before. Thunder rumbled in after a few moments. Then more and more lightning.

What the hell?

The lightning wasn’t random. It was striking the top of the dark towers all across the valley. Every few seconds one of the towers would be struck. Thunder rumbled in a continuous wave, crashing over them like the dull roar of a timpani in growing crescendos of sound.

Reodan’s voice interrupted him.

“Would you like me to deal with the sound, sir?”

Normally, he rather liked thunderstorms and the distant rumbling of thunder, but this was getting rather overwhelming.

“Yes, please.” he replied.

Reodan rose and touched a small section of the glowing scripts on the outer wall, and the sound from outside abruptly cut off.

“What was that?” Aarick said, making a conscious effort to stop gaping at the lightning still causing a display outside.

“It appears the mandated meditation time for the creche has begun.” He replied calmly.

Meditation!? How the hell does meditation cause that?

“Ho…” he coughed. “How, exactly, does meditation create lightning.”

“Ah,” Reodan looked embarrassed for a moment. “I know you lost your memories, but it is still catching me by surprise. Of course, as minor nobility, you have likely never seen a creche before, but to forget tribulations…” He shook his head in obvious bemusement.

“Anyway, to continue. At each major development as you cultivate, the heavens create a tribulation of heavenly lightning. Since these will merely be children forming their dantian, the lightning will merely be a tiny touch. Even a mortal would merely be shocked.

At later stages, the tribulations live up to their name. The lightning will test the foundation for flaws, requiring cultivators to keep their will firm and maintain control.”

Wonder if I will be better at that since I already deal with far too much pain already? Though if it ever gets as strong as what I felt… I am not sure how anyone could maintain control.

He nodded before replying.

“I assume I will have a tutor help me with doing that later? When exactly should I expect to start learning?” He said.

“Yes, and you will start tomorrow, assuming you are ready.”

Aarick’s eyes were caught again by the continuing flash of lightning. The grey towers looked ominous silhouetted in the flashing light.

“What exactly is…” He gestured toward the valley as he continued, “all of this? I know that a creche is supposed to be something to do with caring for children, but…”

His voice drifted off.

“A creche is where most of the commoner children of The Empire are raised. The higher levels of qi are toxic to anyone unable to deal with the strain. Nobles get around this by preparing specialized areas where their children can live. Some of the wealthier merchants and craftsmen will do the same.

The Empire provides free amulets to any woman who wishes to conceive. The amulet will create a localized area of low qi around her body. This protects any child who is conceived. When they are close to childbirth they will enter a shielded medical facility which will help them give birth and then arrange for the children to be moved to a creche, like this.”

“What if a mother wants to raise the child themselves?” He interrupted.

“That is an option, though the mother would need to travel with the child to a creche like this. More common, among those with some degree of wealth, but not enough to justify creating a full facility, is to arrange for tutors and resources to help improve their chances and speed up their progression so they can safely leave the creche for a school in a more qi dense environment.

Many of the larger buildings near the tower house such individuals.”

Aarick frowned.

“Why not just have the child wear the amulet after they are born?” He asked.

“It can be used as an emergency measure,” Reodan admitted. “However, the field created by the amulet is artificially stable. This is ultimately bad for their potential. The fluctuations of qi in a natural environment shift between varying densities. This creates stress that helps potential grow. Mimicking these natural flows is actually part of what makes the formations used by the nobility for their children absurdly expensive.”

Kind of like germs then. Need exposure for a strong immune system.

“Amulets tuned to various intensities are often used by people throughout The Empire. Generally this only happens after an individual’s cultivation has become stagnant. This way using the amulets will not damage their potential.”

The lightning continued outside, the flashes slightly muted by the bright sunlight. No doubt it would be an even more impressive sight on a cloudy day. Or at night.

There… was a lot of lightning.

Each one of those represents a child creating their dantian?

He looked at all the towers; lightning struck even more towers he couldn’t see due to the distance.

“Exactly how many children are in this creche, anyway?” He asked.

“Each tower in a creche contains twenty-five levels above ground, with more below the surface.”

Wow, my estimate of a dozen floors was way off.

“Each holds roughly 150,000 children. About half of them will be below the age of six, and have not started to attempt to create their dantian yet. The other half are children in the range of six to fifteen. Those children are either attempting to form their dantian, or cultivating to progress once they have one. Once they are close to the next major stage of cultivation, they are transferred to an imperial school outside the creche.

Anyone who doesn’t get close to the next stage by age sixteen leaves the tower. Such individuals generally become workers here in the creche. Whether that is caring for the children directly, or working the fields, and so on.

The spacing between each of the towers isn’t merely for farming, and such, though that is necessary. The formations built into each tower would interfere with each other in this low qi environment. This valley is larger than average, and so we have more creche towers than usual. There are twenty-seven towers in this valley. An average creche only holds twenty.”

Okay, some quick mental calculations. 150,000 kids per tower, twenty-seven towers, that would be… 27 + 13.5. So about 4,000,000 children. Average creche would be about three million That… is a lot.

Though this is one of only five empires in the whole world. How many kids to maintain a population of eight billion people on Earth? At least a couple billion, right? So the total kids of the empire could easily be… a fifth of that at 400 million. Assume decent turn-over as they graduate…

So maybe 100 to 200 million in creches at any one time?

“How many creches are there in total?” Aarick asked.

Reodan paused for a moment as his brow furrowed before he answered the question.

“This creche is relatively new, less than a ten thousand years old. There have been a few dozen more made since...

The towers are a serious commitment on the part of The Empire. Making permanent formations that last and are efficient in this low qi density is a highly specialized skill.

I think the official count is 2,474 creches.”

Aarick’s mind drew a blank as it wildly started calculating.

That… number is far too high. 2,500 times 3, add 6 zeros. 7.5 billion.

It was an easy calculation, but his brain was having trouble with it anyway.

The number of children in creches was almost as large as the entire population of Earth.