The training ground was a sacred cove known as the Echoing Basin, where water pulsed through stone tunnels in rhythmic waves—each crash guided by Iskynian tide crystals buried in the walls. It was said that this place was once the heart of Queen Nyelis's first temple.
Mist-Speaker Selari stood with her staff of coral and crystal.
> "The Mirror Current taught you to reflect and listen," she said. "But now, you must move. Water is life only when it flows."
She struck her staff into the stone. The basin came alive with surging waves.
> "Tidepulse is the song of movement. You must listen not with your ears—but with your bones."
Qingsai stepped into the water, his senses heightened. He let the surging waves crash into him. At first, he stumbled—too rigid. But then he remembered what Selari had told him:
> "In stillness, you found yourself. In motion, you will become."
He danced. Slowly at first. Then faster. His movements began to synchronize with the rhythm of the tide—one step, one breath, one flow.
Selari watched in silence, a single tear escaping her sharp eye.