Post by Jude Liang on Oct 27, 2015 15:57:36 GMT -5
OoC: Prefer +5 WIS. Sorry if it's not as exciting as my last AH ;P
A few months after the incident...
Jude Liang was a changed man. Well, sort of. His brush with death was the closest he had ever come in his life to dying a hero, and he had been rewarded with a power that he probably could have discovered with time and effort. Still, gaining the use of qi was no small boon, and Jude was determined to hone these abilities.
He had previously sparred with Leon to test the extent of qi, but was unsatisfied with the results. This power won’t be of any use if I have to nearly kill myself by the time it works, Jude mused while he sat on top of the beaten up car that had become his thinking rock of late. The skies were clear, and the sun was up near its apex. It was perfect weather to do a couple rounds of breathing exercises, but of course, Jude’s mind had already begun wandering off.
This was hopeless. Jude was a thinker, not a Zen master. The only time his brain was off was when he was unconscious. Speaking of which, a nap sounded nice right about now...no--he had to focus. Other students at 552 were throwing electricity around, jumping off roofs, and just being superhuman in general. These weren’t even fully matured people. They were high school students. Jude thought about the other factions: Riot, Orochi, and something even scarier. In Riot, there was one guy who threw ice bolts, and he seemed to be a weaker one. Indeed, there was no small number of individuals who could exterminate Jude without breaking a sweat…
And that was okay. Jude blinked a few times. A sparrow chirped from the trees at the edge of the parking lot. This sudden conclusion was refreshing yet familiar. Jude had known from a young age that he would never be the strongest, fastest, or maybe even the smartest among the people around him. His survival at 552 depended on his common sense, but even this was beginning to be stretched thin. Again, Jude came to the same point: there were too many people with abilities beyond expectation.
Leaning back onto the car’s hood and sighing, Jude combed through his hair with his fingers. Damn it... He wasn’t looking to defeat all these formidable foes, he only needed to keep up long enough to make it out alive. Jude slapped both cheeks with his hands. This type of minimally achieving thought wasn’t going to help here. Maybe he had been able to scrounge his way through the last few years of his life, but he needed to stop being so uncommitted. Of course, the easiest way out was to pack his bags and take the next train out of this hellhole.
The bird from earlier resumed its chirping. Jude chuckled. At least someone was feeling cheerful today. Jude wished he could be as carefree as the sparrow, able to fly away on a whim. Where would he go if he left the area? He had no one to vouch for him, and no substantial assets to his name. Jude didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry. He didn’t want to accept it, but his chances of getting his life back on track were actually better if he stayed here than if he left.
Positive. Think positive, Jude repeated to himself. It wasn’t as if he had been whiling the days away, waiting for a random miracle. He had worked hard to gain considerable knowledge and power since arriving at the gates of PHS #552, while managing to stay on top of his coursework to boot. Although, a report card full of A’s wasn’t going to keep Jude’s face from getting punched in. Jude bit his lip and mumbled, Alright, let’s see what I have going for me. Well...He didn’t look like a threat at first glance.He knew theories and strategies of the battlefield. And of course, he had his qi.
Looking innocent would be a lost advantage when already engaged in combat. Theoretical knowledge was useful, but would be most effective in periods of preparation. Qi was the only help that Jude would have when in the trenches, so of course he wanted to develop the ability. But hours of grueling meditation, day after day, had borne no reward. Jude supposed that he could only blame himself. After all, it was hard to activate any qi meridians if he couldn’t even sit still for two minutes.
The cheerful sparrow started its song again, and Jude groaned in annoyance. The chirps were becoming more of a disturbance as they repeated incessantly. Jude wished he could go over and shut the bird up himself. Suddenly, it clicked. Jude’s eyes widened. He had affected another body’s meridians through touch when he defeated Stone and company. Logically, he should be able to do the same to himself--affect his own meridians, that is, not kill himself.
Breathing deeply, Jude brought his qi to his fingertips. A familiar warmth tingled in his hands. That was the easy part. Now he had to infuse his meridians with just enough qi to activate them. Too little, and they wouldn’t awaken. Too much, and he would damage his internals. Taking another breath, Jude collected his doubts and imagined them floating away. Now, if that bird would be quiet for just a minute, he might be able to figure this out without committing accidental suicide.
Jude carefully willed the buzzing energy at his fingertips to calm down until he felt a slow pulse. Then, he gently pressed his right fingers into the center of his stomach. This was the Hand's Supreme Yang Large Intestine Meridian, or something like that. Seriously, there has to be an easier name to remember, Jude silently griped. He knew from reading acupuncture manuals that this was a principal meridian of the human body, but that was as much as common knowledge would tell him. Jude felt a warm sensation in his core. He didn’t know what it was, but something was surely happening.
It felt like water, warm water rolling around in zero gravity. Despite it not being an uncomfortable feeling, Jude struggled to keep it in check. He could certainly see how it might turn ugly if he put a bit more ‘oomph’ into it. The warmth spread from Jude’s groin until it reached his extremities again. Frankly, he wouldn’t be surprised if he was glowing like a firefly right now, but a quick check told him otherwise. Staring sternly at his body, Jude breathed in, then out. It was so strange to physically feel the qi inside of him circulating. More breathing. The sea of qi, previously turbid, began to calm its currents.
Once the qi had returned to its innocuous buzzing state, Jude opened his eyes. It was time for phase two: testing. The heightened state of his body would only be an asset if it provided any kind of combat advantage, such as speed or strength. Jude walked to the edge of the parking lot and crouched. 3, 2, 1, go. He sprinted across the pavement, reaching the opposite end of the lot in about 10 seconds. The time wasn’t terrible, but it also wasn’t any different from before. Exhaling grumpily, Jude moved on to the next test. He picked up a fist-sized rock that weighed a pound at most. Then, he wound up and hurled the rock towards the side of the lot that he had ran from. The distance it travelled was disappointing, to say the least.
Understanding qi was frustratingly difficult, not to mention bending it to the user’s will. Of course, Jude didn’t expect to be able to leap over rooftops, but he would be lying if he said that he wasn’t disillusioned by what he could do so far. Feeling his discontentment building pressure within him, Jude marched over to the nearest lamppost and slammed his fist into it. The metal clanged as if it were crying out in protest. Jude only glared back at the inanimate object. Maybe it would do him a favor and topple over. But, no such luck.
While taking time to sit and refocus, Jude turned his knuckles toward himself. Punching a steel column was a terrible idea in hindsight. His skin was probably shredded, and he would start to feel the pain soon. Jude bit his lip and nodded. As he expected, his hand was...none the worse for wear? The knuckles on his punching hand were in similar condition to those on the other hand. In fact, only a few dusty smudges betrayed that he had struck the pole in the first place. This was a strange but promising result. Jude waited silently for further developments.
10 minutes of staring at his hand passed by. Jude thought he felt a sharp jolt, but it was just his leg falling asleep. So far, the positive results of the experiment were that his hand was not visibly damaged from hitting solid steel, and that he had experienced no pain from it. Jude’s disgruntlement from earlier still nagged at him. He needed more testing to come to a definite conclusion. Could qi protect him in the event of a real attack? Well, there was only one way to find out.
Jude shook out his limbs and started listing the names of several meridians: “Hand's Supreme Yang Large Intestine, that’s the one I started with...then let’s do Hand's Major Yin Lung, and maybe...Foot's Major Yin Spleen. Mental note: come up with new names for all of these when I get home.” Jude planned to activate the three listed meridians as he did with a single one before. This time, he needed to be even more controlled and cautious, because the predicted interaction between these meridians was all hypothesis. For all Jude knew, infusing these points with qi could cause him to bleed out of his eyes or suffer an equally gruesome fate.
There was no way around it, though. Better to risk death at his own hands than to die pitifully at the feet of a stranger. Mentally retracing the locations of the target meridians, Jude attuned himself once more to the energy residing within him. Spleen, Lung, Large Intestine--Jude tapped the points in succession with his qi laden fingers.
Suffice it to say that he didn’t die. It took a while longer to control the excited state of his qi, but Jude immediately knew that he was on the right track. He could practice controlling an abundance of qi, and he could learn to activate his own meridians without physical stimulus. At this moment, his goal was to get his body under control so that he could see the extent of his qi’s power. Like the first time, Jude felt nothing different except the rush of energy in his internal channels.
Moving on to the next step of the experiment, Jude circulated his qi through his arms and gathered a considerable amount of energy in his right hand. Now came the hard part. Resisting his instinctive urge to pull away, Jude closed his eyes and slapped his palm to his chest, releasing the built up qi from his hand. Jude immediately regretted it. The force knocked the wind out of him and sent him falling backwards onto the hard concrete. He hit the ground bottom first, lying down with a groan.
The few minutes of stillness seemed like an hour. Jude’s shallow breathing and the tireless bird’s singing were the only sounds that punctuated the silence. Eventually, Jude decided that it would be more productive to check the point of impact rather than continue deploring his poor decision. He pulled up his shirt and saw a large, colorful bruise on his chest, which wasn’t surprising at all. But that was it. Jude felt no pain other than the soreness of the bruise, and he found that he could move without exacerbating the injury.
Jude knew from experience that a straight on blow like that should have fractured the sternum. He smiled as a rush of excitement filled his heart. He’d done it! Qi was finally beginning to make sense in application. If it could make him more resistant to injury, it could probably make him faster and stronger. That would certainly advance his abilities closer to those of all the superhumans around him.
He had to train, he had to keep going further into the realm of mastery. There was no time to waste. Jude stood up and prepared to activate his meridians once more. Abruptly, his belly growled. Lesson #2: Qi doesn’t run very well on an empty stomach.
*chirp chirp*
A few months after the incident...
Jude Liang was a changed man. Well, sort of. His brush with death was the closest he had ever come in his life to dying a hero, and he had been rewarded with a power that he probably could have discovered with time and effort. Still, gaining the use of qi was no small boon, and Jude was determined to hone these abilities.
He had previously sparred with Leon to test the extent of qi, but was unsatisfied with the results. This power won’t be of any use if I have to nearly kill myself by the time it works, Jude mused while he sat on top of the beaten up car that had become his thinking rock of late. The skies were clear, and the sun was up near its apex. It was perfect weather to do a couple rounds of breathing exercises, but of course, Jude’s mind had already begun wandering off.
This was hopeless. Jude was a thinker, not a Zen master. The only time his brain was off was when he was unconscious. Speaking of which, a nap sounded nice right about now...no--he had to focus. Other students at 552 were throwing electricity around, jumping off roofs, and just being superhuman in general. These weren’t even fully matured people. They were high school students. Jude thought about the other factions: Riot, Orochi, and something even scarier. In Riot, there was one guy who threw ice bolts, and he seemed to be a weaker one. Indeed, there was no small number of individuals who could exterminate Jude without breaking a sweat…
And that was okay. Jude blinked a few times. A sparrow chirped from the trees at the edge of the parking lot. This sudden conclusion was refreshing yet familiar. Jude had known from a young age that he would never be the strongest, fastest, or maybe even the smartest among the people around him. His survival at 552 depended on his common sense, but even this was beginning to be stretched thin. Again, Jude came to the same point: there were too many people with abilities beyond expectation.
Leaning back onto the car’s hood and sighing, Jude combed through his hair with his fingers. Damn it... He wasn’t looking to defeat all these formidable foes, he only needed to keep up long enough to make it out alive. Jude slapped both cheeks with his hands. This type of minimally achieving thought wasn’t going to help here. Maybe he had been able to scrounge his way through the last few years of his life, but he needed to stop being so uncommitted. Of course, the easiest way out was to pack his bags and take the next train out of this hellhole.
The bird from earlier resumed its chirping. Jude chuckled. At least someone was feeling cheerful today. Jude wished he could be as carefree as the sparrow, able to fly away on a whim. Where would he go if he left the area? He had no one to vouch for him, and no substantial assets to his name. Jude didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry. He didn’t want to accept it, but his chances of getting his life back on track were actually better if he stayed here than if he left.
Positive. Think positive, Jude repeated to himself. It wasn’t as if he had been whiling the days away, waiting for a random miracle. He had worked hard to gain considerable knowledge and power since arriving at the gates of PHS #552, while managing to stay on top of his coursework to boot. Although, a report card full of A’s wasn’t going to keep Jude’s face from getting punched in. Jude bit his lip and mumbled, Alright, let’s see what I have going for me. Well...He didn’t look like a threat at first glance.He knew theories and strategies of the battlefield. And of course, he had his qi.
Looking innocent would be a lost advantage when already engaged in combat. Theoretical knowledge was useful, but would be most effective in periods of preparation. Qi was the only help that Jude would have when in the trenches, so of course he wanted to develop the ability. But hours of grueling meditation, day after day, had borne no reward. Jude supposed that he could only blame himself. After all, it was hard to activate any qi meridians if he couldn’t even sit still for two minutes.
The cheerful sparrow started its song again, and Jude groaned in annoyance. The chirps were becoming more of a disturbance as they repeated incessantly. Jude wished he could go over and shut the bird up himself. Suddenly, it clicked. Jude’s eyes widened. He had affected another body’s meridians through touch when he defeated Stone and company. Logically, he should be able to do the same to himself--affect his own meridians, that is, not kill himself.
Breathing deeply, Jude brought his qi to his fingertips. A familiar warmth tingled in his hands. That was the easy part. Now he had to infuse his meridians with just enough qi to activate them. Too little, and they wouldn’t awaken. Too much, and he would damage his internals. Taking another breath, Jude collected his doubts and imagined them floating away. Now, if that bird would be quiet for just a minute, he might be able to figure this out without committing accidental suicide.
Jude carefully willed the buzzing energy at his fingertips to calm down until he felt a slow pulse. Then, he gently pressed his right fingers into the center of his stomach. This was the Hand's Supreme Yang Large Intestine Meridian, or something like that. Seriously, there has to be an easier name to remember, Jude silently griped. He knew from reading acupuncture manuals that this was a principal meridian of the human body, but that was as much as common knowledge would tell him. Jude felt a warm sensation in his core. He didn’t know what it was, but something was surely happening.
It felt like water, warm water rolling around in zero gravity. Despite it not being an uncomfortable feeling, Jude struggled to keep it in check. He could certainly see how it might turn ugly if he put a bit more ‘oomph’ into it. The warmth spread from Jude’s groin until it reached his extremities again. Frankly, he wouldn’t be surprised if he was glowing like a firefly right now, but a quick check told him otherwise. Staring sternly at his body, Jude breathed in, then out. It was so strange to physically feel the qi inside of him circulating. More breathing. The sea of qi, previously turbid, began to calm its currents.
Once the qi had returned to its innocuous buzzing state, Jude opened his eyes. It was time for phase two: testing. The heightened state of his body would only be an asset if it provided any kind of combat advantage, such as speed or strength. Jude walked to the edge of the parking lot and crouched. 3, 2, 1, go. He sprinted across the pavement, reaching the opposite end of the lot in about 10 seconds. The time wasn’t terrible, but it also wasn’t any different from before. Exhaling grumpily, Jude moved on to the next test. He picked up a fist-sized rock that weighed a pound at most. Then, he wound up and hurled the rock towards the side of the lot that he had ran from. The distance it travelled was disappointing, to say the least.
Understanding qi was frustratingly difficult, not to mention bending it to the user’s will. Of course, Jude didn’t expect to be able to leap over rooftops, but he would be lying if he said that he wasn’t disillusioned by what he could do so far. Feeling his discontentment building pressure within him, Jude marched over to the nearest lamppost and slammed his fist into it. The metal clanged as if it were crying out in protest. Jude only glared back at the inanimate object. Maybe it would do him a favor and topple over. But, no such luck.
While taking time to sit and refocus, Jude turned his knuckles toward himself. Punching a steel column was a terrible idea in hindsight. His skin was probably shredded, and he would start to feel the pain soon. Jude bit his lip and nodded. As he expected, his hand was...none the worse for wear? The knuckles on his punching hand were in similar condition to those on the other hand. In fact, only a few dusty smudges betrayed that he had struck the pole in the first place. This was a strange but promising result. Jude waited silently for further developments.
10 minutes of staring at his hand passed by. Jude thought he felt a sharp jolt, but it was just his leg falling asleep. So far, the positive results of the experiment were that his hand was not visibly damaged from hitting solid steel, and that he had experienced no pain from it. Jude’s disgruntlement from earlier still nagged at him. He needed more testing to come to a definite conclusion. Could qi protect him in the event of a real attack? Well, there was only one way to find out.
Jude shook out his limbs and started listing the names of several meridians: “Hand's Supreme Yang Large Intestine, that’s the one I started with...then let’s do Hand's Major Yin Lung, and maybe...Foot's Major Yin Spleen. Mental note: come up with new names for all of these when I get home.” Jude planned to activate the three listed meridians as he did with a single one before. This time, he needed to be even more controlled and cautious, because the predicted interaction between these meridians was all hypothesis. For all Jude knew, infusing these points with qi could cause him to bleed out of his eyes or suffer an equally gruesome fate.
There was no way around it, though. Better to risk death at his own hands than to die pitifully at the feet of a stranger. Mentally retracing the locations of the target meridians, Jude attuned himself once more to the energy residing within him. Spleen, Lung, Large Intestine--Jude tapped the points in succession with his qi laden fingers.
Suffice it to say that he didn’t die. It took a while longer to control the excited state of his qi, but Jude immediately knew that he was on the right track. He could practice controlling an abundance of qi, and he could learn to activate his own meridians without physical stimulus. At this moment, his goal was to get his body under control so that he could see the extent of his qi’s power. Like the first time, Jude felt nothing different except the rush of energy in his internal channels.
Moving on to the next step of the experiment, Jude circulated his qi through his arms and gathered a considerable amount of energy in his right hand. Now came the hard part. Resisting his instinctive urge to pull away, Jude closed his eyes and slapped his palm to his chest, releasing the built up qi from his hand. Jude immediately regretted it. The force knocked the wind out of him and sent him falling backwards onto the hard concrete. He hit the ground bottom first, lying down with a groan.
The few minutes of stillness seemed like an hour. Jude’s shallow breathing and the tireless bird’s singing were the only sounds that punctuated the silence. Eventually, Jude decided that it would be more productive to check the point of impact rather than continue deploring his poor decision. He pulled up his shirt and saw a large, colorful bruise on his chest, which wasn’t surprising at all. But that was it. Jude felt no pain other than the soreness of the bruise, and he found that he could move without exacerbating the injury.
Jude knew from experience that a straight on blow like that should have fractured the sternum. He smiled as a rush of excitement filled his heart. He’d done it! Qi was finally beginning to make sense in application. If it could make him more resistant to injury, it could probably make him faster and stronger. That would certainly advance his abilities closer to those of all the superhumans around him.
He had to train, he had to keep going further into the realm of mastery. There was no time to waste. Jude stood up and prepared to activate his meridians once more. Abruptly, his belly growled. Lesson #2: Qi doesn’t run very well on an empty stomach.
*chirp chirp*
