บท 343: The Arts (Part 2)

I thought about it, and couldn't really find any flaws in his argument. Nick himself told me that learning by myself, was much better than learning from him. 'Nick was really unwilling to teach me the Art of Hidden Weapons. He wanted me to develop naturally, which would make sense. But the Art of Stealth? I understand the Hidden Weapons, but Stealth?' I asked myself.

I said "You mentioned that you want to see another master grow up. Don't get me wrong, I always planned to master my Arts. I just don't understand why this would be a favour for you". He smiled, and said "You see, you have something other masters don't". I asked "What would that be?". He replied "You might be able to master all three Arts, not just one". I thought about it, and asked "How do you know, I learned three different Arts?".

He replied in a "as a matter of fact" manner. "Because I saw it with my own eyes? You displayed all those things during the battle. That is how I know". I was confused. 'I never used the Art of Medicine during that battle. What is he on about?' I asked myself. I wasn't sure how he saw the Art of Medicine in my skills, so I asked "I never used my Art of Medicine during the battle. How could you possibly know about it?".

This time, he looked at me confused and asked. "Art of Medicine? What are you talking about?". I replied, "You said that I'm able to master three different Arts. I never used my Art of Medicine, so what the hell are YOU on about?".

He replied "I never heard of anyone developing an Art of Medicine. What I'm talking about is Art of Rage". I replied immediately "What nonsense are you spouting? Have you gone senile old man?". He replied angrily "Want me to smash your head in? I've lived in this world for much longer than you, and I never heard of anyone who practiced that Art of Medicine of yours. Where did you even get that from?".

I was stunned. 'So some kind of nonsensical Art of Rage exist, but Art of Medicine doesn't?' I thought, and questioned my own sanity. I shook my head a few times, as if in a bad dream. I said "I learned the Art of Medicine! Hell, I even improved it!". The old man asked "Where exactly did you learn it? Is it a killing Art?". I replied "From the same person. He developed it for most of his life, and I'm the sole inheritor. Killing Art? I wiped out a whole…". I stopped myself, and didn't say anymore. He said "Continue, what stopped you there boy?". I replied "That's all you get. Besides, your Art of Rage is pure nonsense. How could there be an Art like that?".

He replied "Tell that to the old monster from the Art of Rage, and you will lose a few limbs. I'm surprised you haven't heard of it. As I said, there are three masters left, all of us are masters of the forbidden Arts. The Art of Stealth, Art of Hidden Weapons and Art of Rage. These are considered forbidden Arts, and practitioners of these Arts are hunted down, like ducks".

He continued "I also told you, that you are a rare find. To be precise, almost impossible to find. I never saw such a promising youth…". I stopped him, and said "Wait, you want to tell me, I can become a master in the Art of Rage?". This idea alone, was just stupid in my mind. He nodded, and said "That is correct. There were those who mastered multiple Arts, but no one mastered three or more at once. When you master one Art, you have the right to call yourself a Master. When you master two Arts, you have the right to call yourself a Grand Master". I asked "Then what about three or more?".

He smiled and replied, "I don't know". I was lost for words. The old man continued, "There has never been anyone who mastered three Arts. No one thought it was possible. Mastering one Art takes a long time. Two? You would be old already, and three? No Human had enough lifespan, to master three Arts". I asked "So how the hell am I supposed to do this?".

He replied "Because you have us. You are also natural in those Arts. If we point you in the right direction, you have a chance to master all three Arts". I asked "Why do you want to do that?". He smiled, and replied "Do you want to hide? Do you want to be chased for the skills you know? You may say, this is also for the better future of our Arts. All masters left something for future generations. We want to leave someone like you".

I was shocked for sure. I asked in confusion "Does that mean, you want to teach me?". He replied, "I will not teach you how to do things, I will only give you some hints. You already know that to become a master, you have to develop naturally. Because you got this far by yourself, I believe you have good chances of becoming a master of three different Arts".

He then continued, "Have you heard the story of each Art?". I replied "I only heard about Endros. He was the one who developed the Art of Hidden Weapons". He nodded, and said "In that case, I will tell you a story about the Art of Stealth. Listen well boy". I nodded, and listened. The old man said "Endros as you know, was the one who developed the Art of Hidden Weapons. Or rather, he was the one who started that Art. The Art of Stealth, has nothing to do with Endros. He never developed it, and never learned it. It actually precedes Endros".

I asked "Didn't the Art of Stealth, and Art of Hidden Weapons meant to go together?". He laughed, and replied "Each and every Art, is a separate ultimate killing technique. None of them were meant for each other. True, Art of Stealth and Hidden Weapons do complement each other. That doesn't mean all who learned the Art of Hidden Weapons, learned the Art of Stealth too. I told you already, Art of Stealth precedes Endros".

I thought about it, and replied "Wait. You want to tell me, that no one before Endros actually came up with an idea to use Hidden Weapons?". He shook his head, and replied "I never said that. No one ever managed to create an Art out of it, or at least start it up. People used hidden weapons for sure, but it was not the Art of Hidden Weapons. Your mindset is very narrow about Arts, which is understandable. Remember, stealth, is not the same as Art of Stealth. Same with hidden weapons, it is not the same as the Art of Hidden Weapons".

I nodded, and motioned for him to continue. He said "I will, if you don't interrupt me. Just listen quietly and when I'm done, you can ask questions". I nodded, and stayed quiet. He continued "The story begins in the year 417 of the Selesian Calendar. It was the 54th day of the Autumn. A young woman named Arien, travelled through the forest in order to reach her village. She suddenly noticed a strange shadow of a person. The person must've been hidden by a tree, because only the shadow was sticking out. When she called out, the shadow simply disappeared. Arien was very curious by nature. Baffled by that sight, she investigated the tree, but found nothing. Empty handed, she returned to her village".

After a short pause, he continued "Arien shared that story with her family back at home, but no one believed her. She herself passed it off as her mind playing a trick. A few months went by, and this happened to Arien regularly. She saw a shadowy figure, that quickly disappeared when Arien tried to get close. No one believed her, but she couldn't get rid of her curiosity. The shadow and the person it belonged to, simply melted away every time she got closer. She decided to learn how to get close to that shadow".

"Arien began learning how to sneak up to the shadow. She tried loads of things, and learned a lot during that time, but she was never able to approach the shadow. Years passed. Arien got married, and gave birth to a child. She almost forgot about the shadow, when it appeared again. She tried to ignore it, but in the end, she couldn't. This prompted her to again seek different ways of reaching that shadow".

"Time went by. Arien became older. Her kids grew up, and had their own families. Only one thing was bothering her. She was never able to reach that mysterious shadow. Now that she became older, and had loads of free time, she decided to continue. Her skills in stealth were already well developed, she only had to reach that shadow. On one fateful day, when she spotted the shadow, she managed to reach it. To her surprise, there was no person, only the shadow alone. She didn't know what to think of it, but soon realised something. Through most of her life, she was trying to reach something, that never existed. Something that was there, but not there at the same time. In the instance she realised all that, she noticed that she could do the same. She could also become just a shadow, exist and not exist at the same time".

The old man stopped for a while, and I thought this was the end. I was about to ask something, but he continued. "This is just one part of the story. I told you, all Arts are deadly, so let me continue". I nodded, and listened. "Arien became old. She became a grandmother to a few little kids. All her life was peaceful, until one day. Arien left the village for a few days, to visit her oldest son in a village not far away. The rest of her family still lived in her home village. She wasn't aware that someone invaded her country. Moreover, her village. The invaders from the Mareland Kingdom passed by her village, killing everyone. On her way back, she saw no soldier, no warriors, no battles. Only when she returned to her home village, did she discovered what had happened. Banners of the Mareland Kingdom placed everywhere. Corpses of killed people filled the streets. The village devastated, in ruins".

"Her family dead, her friends dead as well. As tears welled up in her eyes, she noticed some soldiers. Leftovers of the army that already moved further, to their next target. She couldn't forgive, although old and weak, she couldn't forgive them. With tears in her eyes, she screamed at them. When they noticed her, they froze in place. All the soldiers that saw her, suddenly fell down to their knees, without a breath of life left in them".

"She was shocked as well. She didn't even realise, what she has accomplished. In fear of the worst, she ran to the neighbouring village. The only place, where her family was still alive. But alas, she was too late. The killing was already in full swing. The hostile army and Arien, must've passed each other somehow. She couldn't contain her tears anymore, and screamed at the top of her lungs "Stop!". All soldiers stopped, and looked at her. When they did, they died. Arien no longer cared whether she could kill people on sight or not, she rushed to her oldest son's house, to find the whole family killed".

"Arien no longer cried. She walked outside, and disappeared like a shadow that she always chased after. What happened next, was not described by Arien. Only that the whole army was gone, and the invasion stopped. No one in the history knew how this happened, or why. Only Arien knew how. Her last words were "If you chase the shadow, remember that there is a price to pay. I Arien Nightgale tell this story, for those who chase. Know that what you chase, is an Art of Stealth. That's how it shall be called!"".