"Slow down. Get too excited and you'll never burn off that toxin." Shaking his head, Bil walked to the mountain wall. With one hand he grabbed the dead cockatrice, and with the other Bil effortlessly lifted a boulder large enough to be his seat.
Jash groaned impatiently, glancing at Nelphy. "But we both want to know. Come on, when can I make–"
"Do you have a foundation?"
Perplexed, Jash blinked. "Um, what's a foundation?"
Bil began plucking feathers while listening carefully for bubbles in the large pot. "Without a foundation, you shouldn't bother thinking about a method, let alone anything else. And there's no such thing as techniques. Were you referring to tactics?"
"Yeah! Those!" Excitement trickled out of Jash's smile.
"First, you'll have to learn a foundation. That's the start to everyone's training and it will determine how your veita grows," explained Bil.
"But the conqueror had a secret method, one that made him invincible. Wasn't that the base of his strength?" questioned Jash. "And with that method, he could use all sorts of tactics and even create–"
"Jash. Calm down and listen carefully." Pausing his fingers for a moment, Bil passed the half-feathered bird to the young man. "Finish that while I start prepping the vegetables for the duck. And listen to me while you do so."
Bil retraced his steps to the cutting board and repositioned his stone seat. He pulled his pack close by, chopping and mincing vegetables while explaining, "Don't believe everything you hear about the conqueror. Any dead legend will always be twisted to fit the needs of the people. Of course, the people want their late leader to be remembered as invincible. But at best, half of the stories are probably true. And that's still a stretch…
"Right now, what you'll need to learn is a foundation. We can purchase a few in Frantoch, so that won't be a problem." Swiping the minced onion into the pot for the duck dish, Bil moved on to the potatoes. "You'll get a method for fire and for wind. We'll also get two for Nelphy. Then, you'll learn to activate your veita properly and you'll be able to fight with it, Jash."
"Then what about–"
"If you're only focused on the possibilities of the future, you'll forget the path directly in front of you and ruin your potential."
"..." Caught off guard, Jash paused and took in Bil's advice.
Nelphy asked, "So what are foundations and methods?"
"A foundation is comparable to a method, but they aren't the same." Sticking the chef's knife into the cutting board, Bil took a moment to put his words together. "... Consider a method to be a blade or the head of a weapon. Then a foundation would make up the hilt or shaft of that weapon. Even if you got your hands on an all-powerful method, it's useless without having mastered at least one foundation."
Continuing his prep work, Bil said, "Anyone can learn any number of foundations within their given affinities. However, once you pair a foundation or two with a method, they'll be set in stone. It's best to start with a simple, solid foundation that can apply to many things, even if it doesn't specialize in anything."
"... So, have a widely applicable foundation and specialized methods?"
Smiling wide, Bil gave Jash a long nod. "That's correct. That won't give you the greatest possible strength in the beginning, but it's better to have a few methods and one foundation than to have dozens of foundations and one or two methods.
"Foundations will guide your veita and help shape its nature. The more you stretch your veita's basic nature, the weaker your veita can become when pushed to the limit," advised Bil. "Methods will harness that veita nature and shape it into whatever you need. And I recommend you have as few methods as possible, regardless of what others may tell you in the future."
"Really?" A bit surprised, Jash asked, "Then what about tactics, and–"
"Forget tactics for now," interrupted Bil, splashing more vegetables into the duck pot. "Jash, use the shovel to set some coals aside."
"Uh, okay..." Jash took out a small shovel from his pack and did as he was asked.
Bil brought the pot filled with vegetables to the coals. He added some oil, salt, and white pepper as he began stir-frying everything. "All you need to know is that mastering a foundation for each affinity comes first. Until you've done that, nothing else matters. Methods are useless until you've completely mastered your foundation.
"As for tactics, those are completely out of reach, even more so than methods. When you've trained your foundation enough and can summon your element, then you can ask me about gambits."
Tilting her head to the side, Nelphy asked, "What's a gambit?"
"Gambits are what you'll either purchase or teach yourself after you're able to summon and manipulate your given elements," Bil answered, finishing the vegetables off and returning to his seat. After dumping the veg in a bowl, Bil took out the duck breasts and started pan-frying them over the coals in the same pot.
"Why are they called gambits? That doesn't make sense," stated Jash, eager to keep learning.
Chuckling, Bil replied, "If foundations and methods create your weapon, then gambits and tactics are the skills you use with that weapon. And gambits are a very fitting name. Because gambits aren't sure-fire or one hundred percent consistent.
"Would you say a toddler can walk the same amount of steps every time they stand up? And what if they're suddenly on rocky terrain, or wading through water, or stomping through deep sand? Will they always be able to walk and go the same distance?"
"No…" Nelphy nodded, sighing, "So they're gambits because they may backfire?"
"Or fizzle out. Or only display half your strength. Or many other things," added Bil. "Gambits can be purchased, taught, self-taught, or self-created. They only have the right to become tactics after they've become one hundred percent consistent. And most of the time, that happens by learning a tactic compatible with a gambit, offering you a natural stepping stone to improve over time.
"So don't even think about anything beyond mastering your foundations. And at the very most, don't dream about anything more than finding a few good gambits afterward."
A bit disappointed, Jash questioned, "Then what about worlds–"
"You heard me. Nothing beyond your first foundations, and then your first gambits, one for each element," insisted Bil. "Are you done with the bird?"