Dead of Time

[Kyuukei]

It was a frigid Autumn morning in the orchards of Erwule. The sky was a beautiful mixture of purple hues from the first signs of dawn, which clashed magnificently with the red and orange leaves on the surrounding trees. Near the banks of the Gohoda River, a young Daemon trained, as was his custom every morning.

Rand's motions were fluid, guiding his staff through a series of slow exercises intended to synchronize his mind with the ambiance of his environment. This, according to his mentors, was the next step of his training. Omnifocus, they called it. The ability to become completely one with the world around you as displayed by your senses, and yet to remain focused on a singular goal at the same time. To focus on everything and yet one thing, simultaneously.

Finally, he brought his staff up in a wide sweeping motion, and with great concentration he drew the energy out from his Core, up along his arm, and out through his staff, using it's properties as an amplifier to help focus the Essence he was trying to use.

He cringed for a moment as he felt his staff all but groan under the strain, but shortly after, the pressure was released. In the treetops above, a large black sphere of energy formed, first with a flicker, but then stabilizing, slowing both the leaves and the wind that carried them, within its borders. After several seconds, the sphere abruptly faded away, and Rand nearly collapsed as his tension left him with equal abruptness.

Dead of Time was an Essence that required intense focus to use, even moreso than most of the Compression-based ones. Normally, one focuses only on oneself, and expands the effect outwards radially from their Core, but those of with higher levels of mastery could channel the Essence outward from themselves, affecting areas far outside of their Core. This is what Rand was training to achieve. The raw feeling was easily recognizable as a trait of Compression, and yet in its use the technique felt far more like the Water Essences with which he was far more accustomed.

The reason for the great difficulty in manifesting the technique away from one's Core, he was told, is that the basic principles actually remain exactly the same. One must 'feel' everything that will fall within the influence of the Essence before it is used - it is for this reason that Dead of Time is always bonded to one's Core. It is the chakra ideally suited for drawing in awareness of the world around you, and then rooting yourself within it. To channel the technique external to the Core, the intense focus that is otherwise naturally facilitated by the chakra must instead be achieved in a far wider area than normal.

He sighed. The sphere was still far smaller than if he had used the conventional channeling method, and it took far longer to perform than normal. It would be some time before he could use the Essence in this way within combat, as he had seen his masters do. Their 'Omnifocus,' as they called it, was something that was perpetually active, and they, with their years of experience, always seemed to be passively in tune with the world around them. It was something that, in Rand's experience, those outside of the Society tended to lack. A means to achieve enlightenment, and oneness with the natural order of the Universe. The ability to use Dead of Time at all was nearly never seen in those outside of the Society's fold, and it was after seeing it being used in this way, in its full power, that he had decided to join them all those years ago, when he was but a small child.

Rand stretched, then wiped the sweat from his brow and made his way back up to Erwule proper. He would rest, and have some breakfast before trying the Essence again. “Come back when you are ready. We will find you.” The words from his most recent teacher echoed in his mind even now. He exhaled deeply, and nodded to himself. Patience. He had time, and eventually would be ready to take his next step into a larger world.