The Azure Dragon Manual. It was Damien's own creation, but its origin was a period long before he ever existed.
These techniques were first developed by Qinglong himself doing something similar to what Damien was doing now. He took the teachings of his Dragon Clan ancestors and transformed them into a technique geared specifically towards people who wanted to follow the same path as him, the path of water.
It started out simple, by having one feel water with one's body. Damien took August to an artificial river he'd created for this purpose.
It was actually an entire waterway that now ran along the Veridea Mountain and into the lands below, branching out and creating a completely new ecosystem.
It had to work on its own for August to truly feel "water." Damien made sure that his own influence was completely removed from the system before they ever arrived.
August was assisted into the river. Its flow was quite strong, so Damien had to carefully make sure he wouldn't be swept away.
He created a transparent mana barrier that kept August stationary, covertly adding Existence to bend the laws and make that mana entirely impermeable.
August was given the perfect environment and was told vaguely what he needed to do. The rest was entirely up to him.
The potential that everyone seemed to see in him, would it manifest now?
The simple answer was no.
Laws highly depended on individual interpretation. That was the main reason why Damien couldn't simply devour someone and immediately use their law comprehension for himself.
He had to interpret those laws on his own. Only then could he make use of what he stole.
It was the same now that he was teaching. August needed to establish his own perception of the Law of Water. He needed to incorporate it into his beliefs and learn what laws meant to him.
Potential didn't mean anything during this process. What mattered was one's understanding of oneself.
And August…
Well, how could one expect a child to have an established sense of identity?
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})He would need many years to reach that point, so obviously he wouldn't be able to immediately grasp the flow of law and utilize it.
Hell, humans only started comprehending laws when they reached 3rd class, so it was stupendous to expect someone who didn't even have a single level to his name to rapidly grasp these unfamiliar concepts.
Still, this was the way that dragons developed, so Damien was training August accordingly.
It was scary at first. The rushing water carried with it an aura of death that poked and prodded at August, provoking him to lose concentration.
Yet, at the same time, there was a familiarity, a feeling of closeness like meeting a long-lost relative.
August focused on that feeling for the sole purpose of calming himself, but it ended up doing a lot more than that.
Beneath that familiarity was peace and calmness. It was the powerful and steady flow of the river that felt like the back of his father, ready to protect him at any moment.
Water…
It could be soft and flexible. Despite August's presence impeding its path, it easily split and flowed around him, losing no time in its journey. it could also be stubborn and rigid. It forced its way through any situation that couldn't be overcome with flexibility, and when it revealed that deathly aura to those who provoked it, it would exert a force incomparable to any other.
Water was incredibly versatile. It could kill as well as it could protect. It was a necessity for life, yet it could cause some of the most brutal deaths imaginable to man.
August only grasped this concept in its most basic form as he experienced its flow.
But that was only the first step.
What did it mean to him?
What did he want it to mean to him?
The feeling as it brushed against his skin was almost like it was patiently waiting for him to give it an answer, for him to define the core of their relationship.
What do you want to use your power for?
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})August felt like he could hear his father's voice in his ear, helping him forward.
'I want to protect Dad and be happy.'
It was a pretty obvious answer. The entire reason why August asked Damien to teach him was so that he could one day fly alongside his father again, just like they'd done before, but with his own two wings.
August remembered what Damien had told him before.
"You are blessed with the gift of water. The seas will respond to your every call, and the world itself will bend at your will. But…
you must first decide. What does water mean to you? What aspect of water do you want to define you?"
August was able to understand the essence of those sentences with his current academic level, but the more philosophical aspects were harder to digest.
'What is water to me?'
August intensely pondered on the concept. This was his first time really feeling it.
Damien told him that he could be patient and take his time to figure out his answers to those questions, but August didn't want to.
He already knew what he wanted.
His goal was clear, and what water meant to him completely depended on how it could contribute to reaching it.
As such…
'I want to be strong.'
He needed the rigidity of water to make sure he could protect himself and hunt.
'I want to be a shield.'
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})He needed the flexibility to be able to stand in front of the people he loved and protect them from any harm.
'I want to be cool.'
He needed…everything else…to be like his father and those ancestral dragons and heroes, unfettered by all things.
The last one was a bit subjective, since the first two would achieve the third, but August still felt the need to mention it.
Because the things he'd seen in the past few days were really, really cool.
As August started to truly formulate what he wanted from the element, the element began to respond to him. A small whirlpool formed around his body, disrupting the flow of the river.
'To think it would be that easy.'
Damien laughed, mostly in astonishment.
Bear in mind, it had already been over a day since they came here. August didn't realize how fast time was passing while he silently perceived the water around him, but if it hadn't been for Damien keeping his body satiated in secret, he would've collapsed long ago.
A single day to establish a fundamental bond with the element.
This wasn't the stage where his potential would bloom, and he was already showing a performance like this?!
'I guess I lied to you.' Damien thought to himself with a grin.
'You really are a monster. In the best and most illustrious way, you are a monster, my son.'
With immense pride glowing in his eyes, Damien got ready for the next step of their training.
Even at this time, there were 6 years left before the heir wars began.
It was more than enough time for August to become someone that his competitors couldn't even begin to stand against.
