Ice Mantra

At a big library Little White, who turned into Yuri An, was standing infront of a young clerk with Cali Capu. Little White gave out another token and demanded a technique. The Mantra was an ice technique and was meant for Cali, as his was not as strong as it could be.

"Why do I need a new mantra? What is wrong with mine. It grants me immortality so it is defined as whole."

"Tell me boy, would you rather use a metal fork or a paper fork?"

"Metal of course."

"Why should you continue to use your Ice King technique then?"

Cali seemed to understand, "So my technique lacks in quality?"

"At least you try to use your brain. Listen boy, the An family doesn't use Techniques as you know them. We use mantras. The ultimate goal of the An is to freely connect and disconnect mind and body. The mind commands the body while the body executes the orders of the mind. The techniques you use are similiar but lack in the cultivation of the mind and the strenghtening of said ability to connect and disconnect mind from body."

"There are many techniques taht cultivate mind and body at the same time, why not use some of them? Isn't it the same concept?"

"You do not understand, boy. You do not cultivate the body and the mind. You cultivate the body to execute the orders of the mind. You cultivate the mind to order the body accordingly. What you suggest means the absolute connection of mind and body. That is not what the An family is striving to achieve. Let me give you an example. When you drive a car, do you intend to become a car? Do you want to exchange your limbs for tires?"

"I do not. I try to understand the car, the model, its specs like horsepower and more. I try to use the rules by which the traffic works in order to get from one point to another as safely and fast as possible."

"Exactley. Your body is replacable, your mind is not. The An family member trains his mind to understand how much the body can take, what the body can do and how to modify the body in a way to fit the commands of the mind. The techniques you suggest do the opposite, they tune mind and body and make them depend on each other for results. The An do not want that. That is why we always survive. Bodies can be replaced."

The words of Little White shocked Cali Capu. Wouldn't that mean an An whould never die? So he asked away and the answer frightened him.

"If an An reaches a certain stage, he indeed has the freedom of choice concerning his death. They can choose to die or inhabit a new body. Whatever they want. Most of the time they prepare a spare beforehand and ice them up. We have many fascilities where spare bodies are made and stored. But do not think those are all, most An choose to hide the bodies somewhere not even their own best friends know, for safety purposes of course."

"What is the ice Mantra then? Where do I obtain it?"

"Right here, as soon as the clerk comes back."

Right then the young clerk came back with a wooden slab. It was as big as the hand of a child. Little White took the slab and hit Calis head with it. It made a crisp plop sound and vanished. In Calis head appeared many kinds of runes, numbers and pictures of techniques and sentences. The energy around him turned cooler and cooler until ice formed around his feet. After a few seconds everything turned to normal and Cali was astonished. This mantra was called the Ice Mantra and it wasn't just a bit better than his technique. With this he could create a literal body of ice in the later stages and be undying, not aging or be affected by injury. He now understood that the stories of the power of the An family were not unfounded.

"Can anyone come in here and just ask for a Mantra? " Cali aksed the clerk.

"Of course, as long as they are a family member we do not care who asks. Everyone can learn, how else could we advance, if only a handful uf people could know the mantras? Wouldn't we be eggs in a basket in that case?", the clerk answered as if it were normal.

"But what if someone uses the Mantras to betray the clan and kill our Patriarch?", Clai asked with worry.

The clerk started laughing hysterically as did Little White.

"Boy, tell me, if everyone has an axe, who gets the most wood?", Little White asked.

"Who?"

"It's the one who treats his axe the best, who hacks the most trees, who works the hardest and the longest and also the one who understands where to hit the trees the best. It is never about the Mantra. If an Elder of the family with the same mantra fought you, you would be dust no matter how long you train."

"Why is that?" , Cali was confused.

"Because the Elder lived longer than you did.", Little White answered, "Young man, we need a place to stay for our master, she likes the water but also views from high up. It has to be a silent place too."

"Please go to the Logistics Department, they will help you find any kind of asset."

"I know young man, but I do not know where their branch is in this town."

"Alright I will call them and have them send someone to take you there."

"Many thanks young man!", Little White said and sat down at a table. A young woman came by and gave them tea.

"Don't we have to tip them or somehting for their help?", Cali asked, it would only be polite to do so.

"Never do that, the person you tip may just kill you for attempted bribery. You have to understand that the only reason they help us and are polite to us is because we were polite and abided by the rules. The rules in the clan are absolute there are no exceptions. Everyone has to follow them or they will be punished." Little White said in a seriuos tone.

"Even master?"

"If she breaks the rules she will be punished too. No exceptions."

With that they waited for the person to take them to the Logistics Department.