Kairen stood on the wide, stone platform that overlooked the thundering waterfall. The roar, once a deafening chaos, now served as a familiar, grounding presence—the backdrop to his new life.
Before him stood Sage Vanamali, his white robes simple and unruffled by the heavy, mist-laden wind. Ancient eyes, filled with a quiet approval, studied Kairen.
"You have built your fortress," Vanamali said, his voice slicing through the thunder of the water as if with ease. "You can stand in the storm of the Essence's sorrow. You have learned to be the mountain."
He nodded once, a faint proud smile touching his lips. "Now, you must learn to guide the wind."
Vanamali motioned for Kairen to start the slow, flowing exercises he had been doing for weeks. "Before, you moved your body to find stillness. Now, you will use that stillness to guide the Essence. The connection you felt, the web. it is not just for sensing. It is for channeling."
Kairen's heart beat a little faster. This was it.
