Murim Recurve

"Then…cannibalism…" Re'Kha frowned, wondering how it was possible to produce a Beast as a result when she remembered about a certain something she had heard about when young. It was a completely rare phenomenon that had seldom happened in the entire course of their history.

She could recall her father's voice as he spoke about it, as if telling her a story.

"In this world, the land itself supports us sentient, bipedal races. But at the same time, it also rejects us. The greater the boon it gives us, the greater the harshness it puts us through." Re'Rak spoke as he read from a scroll.

"Why does that happen, father?" Barely eight years old, a tiny Re'Kha was seated on his lap, listening to his story.

"Well, let's put you to the test, shall we?" He laughed, watching Re'Kha pout in response, "Alright, it is a simple question. In our world, which number has the highest value?"

Re'Kha began to count with her fingers, starting from the single digits, going through the double digits, and was about to reach the triple digits when Re'Rak stopped her, "That's not what I was asking. It's not the number with the highest value, but the number with the highest value in our world."

"What does that mean, father?" Re'Kha felt confused, abruptly turning up as her head smacked his chin. She held her head as tears were on the verge of breaking out. 

Re'Rak rubbed her head as he spoke, "There is a certain number associated with the principle our world follows."

On seeing that she was getting more and more confused, he laughed, "Alright, you'll learn more when you grow up. In our world, the number with the highest value is the number four. It relates to the maximum amount someone can comprehend an Element Qi within a year."

He then patted her, "How many elements can our race wield?"

Re'Kha replied immediately, "Four!"

"How many does the Treka Wield?"

"Three!"

"What about the Gaiko?"

"Three!"

"What about the Bisheen?"

"Three!"

"Pitruha?"

"Three again!"

"Then," Re'Rak chuckled, "Have you wondered why our race alone is an exception?"

"Because…" Re'Kha spoke after some thought, "We are kinder?"

"Of course…not." Re'Rak patted her, "Well, the reason isn't exactly sure. There are other races in the world that can only wield one or two elements. From the old records of the Treka that I read before, it is stated that the world won't allow a race to prosper beyond control. It will always keep them in check through some manner."

"And, this check is dependent on the number of elements a race controls," He smiled, "And, there are four levels to this check, from one to four depending on the elements."

"For races wielding only one element, their lands only have animals. These animals harm the race's populace from time to time, keeping them in check. And because of their single element, they cannot compete against the stronger races." Re'Rak noticed that Re'Kha was acting like she was paying attention, but was in actuality already beginning to lose interest since she wasn't able to completely follow along.

Re'Rak sighed, but continued to speak anyway, "If the race wields two elements, beasts will also begin to appear on their land. And, these beasts can wield the same elements as them. Beasts are more powerful than animals and are harder to kill due to them possessing Elemental Qi breath attacks."

"But, when the element increases by one more is when things start to get really gruesome." Re'Rak controlled his solemn voice and lightened his tone to not make Re'Kha too afraid but still instil in her the seriousness of the situation, "A new species would be birthed from the land that can completely negate the race's society. They are weak to the race's exclusive element and are affected by other elements relatively less. And per each race, they are different and have a different set of powers."

"In our race, we have to fight against something called a Sha. The Treka face something that they call the Rua." He spoke slowly, making Re'Kha remember the details, "The Sha can steal things from us while the Rua affects the land around the Treka."

"And," His expression turned a tad serious, "When a race possesses a fourth element is when things turn bizarre and dangerous. This was only recorded in the scrolls as it had only happened a few times. But, there was this strange Beast that appeared that was able to gain the traits of the creatures it killed. It was called a Ras. Legends say that if a Ras ate enough Kalki…"

"Dad…enough!" Re'Kha closed her ears, unwilling to hear about killings and eating people. When Re'Rak tried to teach her further, she made noises while shaking her head, "Lalalala, I cannot hear anything. Ahahaha, lalala, papapa, kekeke, can't hear!"

"Fine," He let out a helpless sigh, "Get some sleep then. Father still has some work to do."

"No! You stay here!" Re'Kha clung to his back like a koala bear, not leaving him alone.

"Haha, alright. I'll bring my documents here and work on them." Re'Rak laughed helplessly and got up to get his documents, all the while Re'Kha clung to his back without letting go.

Now that she was rushing on horseback, Re'Kha recalled the incident, "So, using its ability to affect the place, the Rua managed to erode their Tikka jewelleries, destroyed their natural defences, and made them consume one another, producing a Ras. And now, it is trying to make more of them."

"But, how did a Rua arrive on our lands…?" She immediately thought about the dense Earth Qi in the place, wondering if there was a reason for that. "Earth Qi is supposed to be dense only in the Land of the Treka and not here."

"No matter what, I cannot leave the Rua and the Ras as is. But, eradicating them on my own is impossible since Water Qi isn't that effective against the Rua." Re'Kha thought something as she eventually reached the foot of the hill, immediately proceeding northeast, intending to meet up with some Vi Clan Harmonisers, "Lightning and Fire elements should be the best in this situation."