Ten years ago.
Edge of the Solarian jungle.
"Visualize the flow of Cosmo deep within you, as it flows through your body. You are presently incapable of seeing it, but your newly awakened senses will," Healer Salem said in a calm, soothing voice.
Damien focused deep within himself, trying and failing to find his soul well. His spiritual senses were only just recently awakened, so he didn't have much range to it. On a hunch, instead of trying to visualize the well of Cosmo already within himself, he focused his senses on the ambient Cosmo energy around him and then began tracing it back to the stream leaving his body. Finding that too, he focused on the silvery stream of energy flowing out of his body, tracing it back toward himself until he found an untainted line of silvery energy flowing out of the lower part of his stomach.
"For those of you that have successfully located your Soul well, I want you to slowly run your senses through it, familiarize it until you have a better grasp of it, what it feels like to your you. Remember, Cosmo is the building block of the universe; it is in everything and everyone, a neutral force, one which comes in a different taste to everyone.
Damien breathed in, sinking deep within himself. He ran his senses into the well and around it, getting a feel for it. To him, it came off as a force of pure destruction, one that would annihilate all in its path, leaving nothing.
"Now that you've done that, I want you to run your senses throughout your body, starting from your well. Trace a path through to your chest area where you will find something shaped like an upside-down five-pointed star. That is your heart meridian. Your heart meridian connects to every other meridian in your body through bridges in your body called pathways. I want you to trace the pathways connecting to your hands, feet, and head."
Finding the line connecting to his chest area, he found what the healer called a 'meridian'; it was a dull silver-colored upside-down star. But there was something off with it. It felt tainted.... And blocked. Leaving that, he followed the pathways running to his hand meridian and, again, found it blocked, barred to the cosmic energy that seemed to want to fill it. Tracing the pathways from his hand meridian to the second hand meridian, he found the upside-down Star. It was placed in his palm section, and like the heart and the other hand meridian, it was also blocked. Doing the same for his feet and finally, his head yielded the same results.
Opening his eyes, he looked up to the healer from where he was sitting, legs crossed. "I traced the pathways to my heart meridian, but it's blocked, same as my other meridians. Why is that?"
Someone snorted from the front. "They are meant to be blocked until you awaken them, idiot! Seriously, where did this fool come from?"
Sitting next to him, Keilan was about to get up, anger and violence in his posture, but was stopped when Damien grabbed hold of his hands, Shaking his head. "Don't give him attention; that's what he wants; just ignore him." Damien didn't bother lowering his voice.
Hearing that, Borvin turned back to glare menacingly at him, his glare deepening when Damien gave him an unconcerned and amused smile.
Healer Salem loudly tapped her walking stick on the ground, bringing the class's attention back to her. "Borvin, interrupt my class again and see what I'll do to you. And you," She pointed at Keilan. "Learn to control your anger. Damien is not so fragile that he'd need you to constantly come to his defense like a mother hen," She admonished and Keilan blushed, turning an embarrassed face away from Damien.
"Now for your question," Healer Salem said, getting back on topic. "Your meridians are always blocked until you awaken them."
He was about to ask another question when he was stopped by a raised palm.
"Yes, you will be taught how to open your meridians, all of you," She said, looking around the room at the other students. "I will be there to personally monitor your awakenings."
"Normally, I'd immediately start you all with learning how to channel Cosmo," she continued. "But since none of you has already opened your meridians, it'll have to be postponed. Class dismissed."
Standing up, Damien and Keilan immediately began making their way out of the room, nodding to some of the kids they hadn't had time to converse with at the beginning of the class.
"Keilan! Wait for me!" Somebody called from the other side of the room.
Looking in the direction, they spotted Boria walking fast towards them – almost running – smiling at Keilan with two of her upper teeth missing. Boria was the mayor's daughter and also Borvin's twin sister. It didn't help that she was also ugly, with two incisors at the top of her mouth missing, and her nose was so long that it could be mistaken as a weapon. To add salt to the wound, she was also self-centered.
As usual, she pointedly ignored Damien as she reached them, raising her chin and sniffing. "Keilan, why didn't you come sit with me?" She said, sounding like a mewling cat. Damien almost snorted but held himself, instead, turning his face away to hide his obvious amusement.
"Uhh.... Damien and I were already late for class, so we just decided to sit anywhere," He replied, face wincing and voice uncertain like he was waiting for something.
And he was right
"Damien this! Damien that! Why do you keep defending him!? You even chose him over me," She screeched. Her face was so scrunched that she almost looked like a bird. Unfortunately, she soon turned her anger to Damien. "And you! It isn't enough that you're not from this village, coming from god's nowhere! An unwanted stranger from obviously a group of bush people; you have to steal my Keilan away from me, too!" She the screamed.
They were already a distance from the healer's home and were making for their house. People who were walking down the streets turned to look at the commotion.
Damien said nothing, he didn't even bother to look at her.
"You see! See how he ignores me, his lack of manners. Don't let him corrupt you, my boogy babe." She said, turning to Keilan and completely forgetting the fact that she started it.
"I'm sorry, I'll ta—." What Keilan was about to say was interrupted by the group of boys who were now blocking their path, led by none other than Borvin.
"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" Borvin said, trying for a mischievous look and instead, looking like he was holding down a fart.
Damien and Keilan stopped. Looking at the cronies and then at their leader. "Go home, Borvin; I don't have time for this," Damien said.
Borvin's face quickly turned red with anger. "You don't talk to me like that, you nobody!" He spat.
"You've got some nerve, publicly trying to start a fight like this. You know your daddy won't help you if all hands are pointing at you as the instigator of this fight," Keilan said, ignoring Boria as she tried to drag him away from Damien.
Damien saw the way some of the boys were fidgeting, signifying that some of them didn't even want to be there.
"For those of you that don't want to take part in this nonsense, you can go, I won't hold it against you," He said.
Their nervousness intensified, looking at Borvin with fear.
Their leader looked back at them. "If any of you take one step backward, I'll make sure you regret it.".
"Keilan, don't risk yourself for him, I'm pretty sure he deserves what's coming for him. He lacks manners and doesn't know when to keep shut in front of his betters," Boria mewled and Keilan ignored her.
"If any of you join him, you'll be leaving here with broken bones and bruises," again, Damien warned.
This time, three of the boys left, running away and leaving only three to back up Borvin.
"Seems we're now even matched," Keilan snickered.
"Count the odds, dimwit, we outnumber you by two," Borvin replied, but now his cockiness was starting to disappear.
"If you follow him, don't bother coming to meet me," Boria said to Keilan, which he ignored, but Damien saw how he winced when she said those words.
Borvin threw caution to the wind when he saw his twin sister being ignored. He attacked, followed by his three cronies.
The fight didn't last long.
Damien took Borvin and one other, while Keilan handled the rest.
He stepped in, kicking backward the leg of the second boy, who fell on his face when he lost his balance. He stopped cold the fist Borvin threw at him, returning in kind with his own punch to the nose. Borvin screamed in pain as his nose was broken, leaking blood.
Turning to the other boy who had just stood up. He kicked him again on the side of his calf, watching as the boy fell on his arm, screaming as his arm snapped. Healer Salem would heal him in seconds.
He turned just as Keilan was just finishing his fight. One of the boys bled from the mouth alongside the other who sat on his butt with a black eye.
"Well, nice meeting you all. We should do this again sometime," He said, laughing as he and Keilan made their way home, leaving Boria who screamed as she rushed to her brother's aid.