Life Giver

Master Bluefire stepped forward, closer to Casmir, "You let your emotions control you. If you were in that situation again, would your actions differ?"

Casmir took a moment to think, 'Would I do it differently?'

"..maybe.. I don't regret punching him but I regret not being able to control my emotions." Casmir responded.

Bluefire expected such a response, she look at Casmir disapprovingly.

"Oh? You don't care about punching him? What if you get expelled? What if the person guarding him had caught you and sent you to jail? Arthur might have been an idiot, but the other member in his family are not."

Casmir was shocked, "Someone was guarding him?"

Master Bluefire's sternly looked at him.

"You're an idiot, an idiot I tell you. That Clara girl warned you that he had a backer and yet you believed you could ignore it? Even with the benefit of hindsight? If you don't know to regret your actions, you need to be taught how." She said coldly as she picked up an unassuming device from nearby.

"In this device is an electrically charged Qi stone, every single time you do something idiotic, I will shock you." Master Bluefire said as she threw the device at Casmir.

Casmir caught it, it looked like a watch except the clock was encased in an oddly shaped metal ball. Knowing what it was, Casmir didn't dare to put it on.

Seeing this Master Bluefire Glared at him, her aura seemed to expand and bear down on Casmir as she spoke coldly.

"Put. It. On."

Under her pressure, Casmir could only put the shock device on his wrist as he thought sorry for himself.

Master Bluefire smiled seeing him obey her.

"Good. Now as my student, you need to become a capable Refiner I will teach you about it. It will be very beneficial to you if you... "

Suddenly as Bluefire was speaking she stopped for a moment, realising something.

She looked at Casmir with a frown saying "Do you even know what refining is?"

Casmir lightly shook his head, under the impression that this was something she would teach him about.

Contrary to his expectations Master Bluefire grew annoyed and clenched her hand which was holding the activator for Casmir shock device, promptly shocking him.

"Ouch!" Casmir cried as his arm clenched from the pain and he looked at the shock device on his wrist.

Master Bluefire didn't care for his scream, she turned around and began to gather some books together.

Casmir wanted to protest.

"What did I.. Ouch!"

"You are not to interrupt me while I'm teaching you." Master Bluefire said coldly.

Casmir was gobsmacked at how little she cared about his pain, she clearly didn't care about teaching Casmir in a dignified or understanding way.

Indeed, Master Bluefire had the simplest teaching method, listen properly or be punished.

Casmir begrudgingly waited for Master Bluefire to finish what she was doing. Casmir watched as she walked around her room collecting books and some oddly shaped devices.

Eventually she walked over to Casmir holding a variety of objects however noticing the table next to Casmir was occupied by a pile of books, she impatiently kicked everything off of the table before placing what she had collected in it's place.

"These are all the books and devices you will need to study before we meet next, I'm not going to teach you such basic knowledge, it's a waste of my time." She declared.

"Okay.. Can you at least tell me what refining is?" Casmir cautiously asked.

Master Bluefire clearly frowned and was conflicted as to what to do, her hand that was holding Casmir's shock device twitched as if wanting to take action.

Fortunately reason prevailed and Master Bluefire reluctantly explained refining to him.

"Fine.. Refining is basically the advanced study of Qi energy states and properties. I specialise in physical refinement because I'm a Blacksmith originally however Refining is a much more complex and varied topic."

"Refining is about studying the essence of cultivation, you will learn how to change Qi energy into different grades, how different forms of Qi energy interact and of course the application of Qi energy." Bluefire explained.

Casmir was intrigued, clearly this was an important aspect of cultivation however Casmir didn't understand how this differed from typical cultivation.

Master Bluefire finished by saying "That's the basics of it, of course it's much more complex than how I've described it."

As Master Bluefire finished, she didn't know what to say next. This was all she wanted to talk to Casmir about because she didn't want to start teaching him refining until he understood the fundamental's.

She was just thinking about kicking him out when she remembered something else.

"I don't have anything else to say to you until you've understood these books, it should take you a couple of weeks so we'll meet next then..." Master Bluefire then took in a deep breath before asking.

"Did.. did you want to know anything else about your mother..?"

Casmir was listening carefully until he heard Master Bluefire's question, he had thought a lot about what to ask her, so he wasn't shy with his questions.

"What are my parents names? Why did they die? And Where did they use to live?" Casmir asked with longing in his eyes.

Master Bluefire frowned at his repeated questions, she clenched her hand sending a shock into Casmir.

"Ouch" Casmir cried.

"One question at a time!" She said coldly.

Casmir lightly rubbed his now sore wrist as he repeated himself.

"Why did my parents die?"

Master Bluefire was clearly slightly reluctant to reply but she had prepared herself for this eventuality so she replied properly.

"You're father made a lot of powerful enemies, he died in a war and afterwards your mother was killed in an act of revenge. Do not concern yourself with who did this, you are too weak, all you will find is a fire that burns you beyond recognition."

Casmir blankly stared at Master Bluefire, honest confusion was displayed by his expression.

"Why?" He asked simply.

As Master Bluefire saw him, she couldn't help but feel a pain in her c.h.e.s.t. She might be a cold person but Casmir's mother Alexandra was someone very dear to her.

She stepped closer placing a hand on Casmir shoulder gently in a strange attempt to comfort him.

"I didn't want to tell you this yet but.. your father was a monster. He did many horrible things that brought a terrible cost on his family..."

"Which is why I want you to be better. You're mother was a good person and I can see her in you, I can tell you about her if you want."

Casmir was clearly distressed at this revelation, his idea of a perfect pair of caring parents was broken.

He wanted to hear more about his mother so he nodded to Master Bluefire.

Master Bluefire sat down near Casmir and began to tell Casmir about his mother.

At first she was very conservative, she coldly described his mothers talent at refining but Master Bluefire's voice gradually turned warm as she described Alexandra's mischievous behaviour and caring attitude.

Casmir's thought about his parents gradually formed into a caring a lively mother and a horrible disastrous father.

After a short while Master Bluefire even started to smile as she reminisced about Alexandra, however she quickly noticed and attempted to recreate her cold demeanour.

"Ok, ok that's enough talking about it for today. I wont tell you about your parents families yet, it's too dangerous. Once you have graduated I will tell you about them." Master Bluefire explained.

Casmir attempted to persuade her to tell him more, all he received was a sharp shock leaving him unwilling to argue further with her.

Master Bluefire then ordered him to leave, she had nothing else she wanted to say. Casmir took the pile of items Bluefire had ordered him to study and was promptly kicked out by Master Bluefire.

Casmir didn't know what to think of Master Bluefire as he was kicked out, the only thing he was certain off was that she was irresponsible.

As Casmir stumbled back home attempting to balance the objects he was holding without dropping them, Master Bluefire was resting in her refinery.

She was holding onto a small circular device that occasionally shined a pink light, as Master Bluefire looked at this odd device, she smiled.

This was the first object Alexandra had refined for Master Bluefire, all it did was condense Qi energy in an incredible inefficient and slow process, yet to Bluefire it felt far more valuable.