The Spirit Refined

Cultivation

Cultivation is the exploration and refinement of the self. A deeply personal experience, cultivation has no guaranteed milestones or goals. Each person must experience and explore their spirit alone. Paths and techniques of cultivation are only tools that provide guide posts along a dark and unsure way.

Though it is possible to cultivate from nothing, Seln is host to a innumerable existing schools to speed your steps. These are the Paths in the dark, roadmaps of cultivation.

Paths vary wildly in how they help you cultivate. Some encourage deep meditation; others seek truth through combat; still others emulate mythic heroes and powerful totems. What they share is the result: the shaping of body, mind, and spirit.

To take a Path is to intentionally embark on a transformation of one’s being.

The word “Cultivation”

Cultivation as a term originates from genres such as wuxia and xianxia. These genres are massively popular and interpret their terminology in a variety of ways. Much like “magic”, the word “cultivation” is going to mean a dozen different things to a dozen different people.

Here we will intentionally treat cultivation very loosely. This is to allow you to dictate how your characters cultivate to suit your whims. You might cultivate by meditating under an icy waterfall; by crafting elixirs and tonics; by breaking your limits in combat…

This ambiguity exists in character as well. Anybody can claim to be a “cultivator”. Anyone can claim to have the secret to spiritual perfection. This is an excellent way to start a tavern brawl but otherwise unlikely to be productive. After all, only you know the truth of your own spirit.

Surpassing one’s limits

Mortal men are limited in their strength. No matter how much you train, you will only lift so much.

Cultivation unlocks the ability to break these mortal limits. As you cultivate, your body and spirit grow closer, and you unlock strength beyond mortal. Your senses, speed of thought, and other traits also increase.

In Path Masters, this repeated cultivation begins to bleed through the flesh. Path masters sometimes seem to be surrounded by an aura of power like a storm cloud! These warriors begin to exceed the definition of mortality and resemble the spirits themselves!

Of course, such cultivation is usually the result of decades of dedicated study. Impatient students might think to bypass this process with shortcuts, but such efforts always come with a price…

Spiritual blockers

If you ask a cultivator, they will tell you that they are spiritually refined. This is true. A cultivator is more than human in prowess, speed, and perception.

Unfortunately, power does not guarantee wisdom. You can cultivate in many ways; what do you choose to refine? Love and compassion? Devotion and duty? Pride and hatred?

In truth, cultivators can fall to all the temptations of normal people: prejudice, jealousy, pride. Given greater power, cultivators are also vulnerable to greater hubris!

These dark influences congeal in the spirit. Left untended, they begin to block further cultivation. Refusing to confront their shadows, these cultivators find they cannot progress through meditation or training.

They then face a choice: undertake the difficult work of improving themselves…or seek cultivation by other, darker means.

The search for immortality

Most cultivators include regular, vigorous exercise. Naturally, this helps you stay vigorous well into your golden years!

Yet many old masters lust for more than their span of years. The true prize: immortality!

One legend of immortality

The cultivated master must locate a divine turtle, eldest of the auspicious beasts. Known as the Reiki, this turtle holds in its shell the secrets of immortality itself.

The master must (depending on the version) either convince the turtle of his enlightenment or devour a piece of its shell; then he will become an immortal god!

Or a terrible, terrible monster.

The exact definition of “god” is quite nebulous and often conflates with power and immortality.

In theory, cultivators should strive for enlightenment. Despite this, tomes and Arts of life extension are highly coveted in the black markets!

Publicly, there are no known immortal cultivators. Of course, this might simply mean that said immortals keep out of the public eye. Imagine…a secret society of ageless, cultivated immortals, lurking in the shadows…Why, that’s the stuff stories are made of!

Power

Of course, cultivation does come with a few flashy benefits!

Ki

Breath is the basis of life. Centered in the stomach, it emanates through the entire body.

All folk possess Ki, though not all cultivate its power. It can empower a punch, steady the mind, and enhance one’s works.

Untrained, Ki is an undifferentiated energy. As you cultivate it, you draw it into separate reservoirs, each attuned to a single element. Naturally, these reservoirs will vary in their power; your Bane always the weakest.

Chakra

Chakra are reservoirs for elemental energy within the body. Pure elemental power is dangerous, and cultivations must slowly learn to harness this energy. Once harnessed, a chakra can then sync with one’s arms and armaments.

We might characterize Chakra as a form of battery, fueled by ambient elemental energy that the cultivator absorbs through food, water, and the air itself.

Many forms of equipment seem mundane until synced to a Chakra. Once given access to that power, the equipment suddenly crackles with unseen power!