Mu people (4)

"Knowledge?" he heard several voices simultaneously, all full of confusion and all from the darkness.

"Yes, I want to know everything you all know. About cultivation, current affairs, politics and geopolitics, economy, technology, resources, flora and fauna, culture and customs. Everything you all know, I want to know. Knowledge is most important to me, and training and protecting your younger generation is a small price to pay," Xasha declared politely.

After he spoke, there was silence. Xasha stood there waiting for a response while Mulindo looked at him in confusion. How can such trivial knowledge be worth taking an entire territory under one's wing and inheriting all of its enemies?

"Indeed, you are quite a piacular young man. I have met no one like you before. You have caught my interest, boy. I will agree to your terms and teach you everything I know. Whatever knowledge we Mu people possess, you will have access to it all. I can tell you have a plan in your mind but need knowledge to fully envision it. I want to see what you come up with as well. We will meet again, Xasha."

"Thank you, elders," Xasha gave another bow.

A moment later, another light appeared in the room. It was rectangular, like a doorway. All Xasha could see was yellow light inside, and nothing behind the door.

Mulindo stood frozen in place, not knowing what to do. A moment later, he decided, "come with me."

He moved towards the newly found doorway and entered it with Xasha trailing behind. The moment he passed through the doorway, an old scent attacked his nose. It was the smell of wood, like furniture that was hundreds of years old. He saw shelves, wooden shelves, as far as the eye could see.

On the shelves were small, yellow, flat, and oval stones. There were thousands of them, from floor to ceiling, lying gently on the shelves. Xasha saw this and was immediately intrigued. He approached the closest shelf and picked up a single stone. The stone barely filled his palm and felt warm and smooth to the touch as it bathe in yellow light.

"This is an essence stone. It stores the soul or a piece of the soul of cultivators. That sounds complicated. What it really stores are memories. The bigger the stone, the longer the memory it can hold. These stones store the memories of practitioners over the years, from the first generation of Mu people to our current generation. You can access all these and learn all you need to," Mulindo informed.

Xasha's eyes shown, "how does it work?"

"You extend your aura and touch it. But I will warn you, doing this is very dangerous and can hurt you. Overstimulating your soul can kill you, so I would advise you read through these memories one at a time and read only one per year."

Xasha's eyebrows shop up. He looked over the room. If that was true, how many millions of years would it take him to gain all this knowledge? "Can there be such a thing? Then isn't it impossible to learn everything here?"

Mulindo nodded. "Yes, so we focus on the most relevant things about our interest or relevant to the survival of our race."

Xasha looked over the room once again, then at the stone in his palm. He did as Mulindo instructed and extended a piece of his aura into the stone. He felt a strange tingling sensation, and suddenly there was a fresh memory in his mind.

It was of a member of the Mu people. He stood on a grassy field, moving his body smooth and graceful. One would think he was a water wielder because the earth under his feet rippled up and down like waves on an ocean. With every move he made, the earth would ripple in response. He then rose and clapped his hands. The dust on the ground rose and compressed into a thin staff.

He then wielded the staff like a conduit for his will. Waves on the grassy plains became more intense, and the mud moved fast like the stormy sea. It eventually became mountains raising then flaming back to the plains. The man was calm the entire time. He simply breathe and moved his body. Xasha watched him over and over, paying attention to every detail.

Xasha gasped and staggered back a few steps. Mulindo rushed to help him stabilize himself. "I told you this was dangerous. You should sit down and rest. You will need a few days to recover."

Xasha smiled lightly. The concern in his eyes warmed his heart. It was the natural loyalty exercises by this tribe that made him want them as an ally.

"That's not it, it's just, that was amazing. I've never seen such a profound technique in my life? Can you perform such a technique? I would like to see it being performed." Xasha grabbed Mulindo's shoulder and shook him in excitement.

"I, I, I don't know that technique. I have never read that memory before. And I have already read a memory this year and cannot read another for 8 months at least." Mulindo seemed disappointed. He gazed at the stone. He wondered what Xasha could have seen that made him react in such a way.

Xasha handed him the stone, which he took in his hand, holding like a sacred treasure. He examined the stone, tempted to take a look but fighting to hold himself back. He stood like that, almost as if suspended in animation. After a few minutes, it seemed caution won out, and he closed his palm around the stone. He placed it on the shelf and sighed lightly.

"This is a miraculous place. All the important events our predecessors deemed relevant to the younger generation are stored here. It is only a shame that I cannot experience all of it myself. The Mu People have degraded over the years once we were a powerful race, but now we can barely hold on to our territory on the abandoned west coast. I hope to become an outstanding leader and help my tribe rise from the ashes, the method to do just that lies in these memories, but because my soul power is weak, I cannot." Mulindo paused. He had turned around while speaking to face Xasha, but there was no Xasha to be seen.

"Xasha?" Mulindo called out.

But there was no answer. He panicked slightly for a second. He ran down to the end of the aisle and found no Xasha and began panicking for real. He shouted for Xasha as he ran from aisle to aisle searching for him.

Only after searching well over a hundred aisles did he see Xasha, with his eyes closed, strolling down the aisle. With each step, he casually touched a stone for a second, then moved on.

Mulindo froze. He noticed immediately that Xasha was not simply touching stones, but he was reading them all as if it was nothing. His mouth went agape, and his mind seemed to have fried as it filled to the brim with questions.

"Ash!"