Arcadia Chronicles: The Story of Lien Hua

Spiritual Energy and Hypothesis

5 years. So much time had passed, and every day of every year always had the same image in front of her since she woke up on the same bed.

Lien Hua was initially a bit shaken by what had happened over the time from when she was just born until now. But like everyone else, Lien Hua also became accustomed to the daily repetitiveness: waking up and following the directions and care of her caretaker. In time, she discovered her caretaker's name was Li Wei, an over 70-year-old man she now called Old Li.

Although initially, during the first year and a half she had observed this man looking after her every day, he had never once spoken to her directly, only muttering to himself about things, this then allowing Lien Hua to at least pick up some of the words of their world. So, out of spite, she began calling him "Dad" but with a slightly sarcastic tone, until he finally relented and told her his name was Li Wei and began actually to speak seldomly to her.

Li Wei had a blanket of white hairs because of old age, which were gathered by a small brown ornament on the nape, and behind it, a tail fell to his mid-back. He dressed in a brown tunic, and a belt of the same colour kept his clothes firm.

His face was studded with wrinkles, more or less deep, which almost swallowed up his grey eyes, eyes that had once attracted as a young man numerous looks of girls to himself. Plus he was a very tall man.

Noticing a quick understanding coming from the child, Li Wei spoke with the girl in his care every day, taught her things, explained everything he could, as he saw a considerable interest from Lien Hua. On the other hand, it was a form of entertainment for the child to extract her from the inevitable daily boredom.

Thus it was in this way that Lien Hua learned the language spoken in that world, a sort of mixture between English and Ancient Chinese, complicated for those who perhaps listened to it for the first time, but understandable for those who, like her, learned it from an early age.

The caretaker's tasks were simple but basic: he woke her up, dressed her, and gave her the usual pill to eat (the same one she ate for the first time when she was in the arms of the boy who found her).

In time, she learned that Li Wei had a family and was married with a son, but his only son had died at the age of 15 because of a fatality caused by his son's own naivety. And for that reason, the caretaker had to flee and abandon everything and everyone he held dear sir to grief. He found refuge in the sect where he was now serving, where he was now helping Lien Hua.

The caretaker tried to name her, but she chanted "Lien Hua, Lien Hua" when she was three years old.

This day the caretaker came to her earlier than expected compared to other mornings. He looked her in the eye intensely. "Lien Hua, you have grown up. The time has come for you to know the basics of this world."

He was struck by how those little eyes stared at him without hesitation, as she hung from his lips, waiting to know what he had to say to her. He understood that he would receive her full attention. 'Lien Hua is not like other children, with how much intelligence she has compared to her peers,' Li Wei thought to himself.

He continued to speak, "We will start with simple things, and gradually we will go onto more and more detailed things. Okay?" The child nodded. "Well, let's start," said Li Wei, "We are in Arcadia; that's what our world is called. And the name Arcadia comes from the First Empress of the Foehn Dynasty, who saved all humankind by bringing them under her protection within the Foehn Empire."

The little girl interrupted him with a question, "But what did humanity have to protect itself from?"

Lin Wei looked at her and replied, "From the Spiritual Beasts. Spiritual Beasts are animals that inhabit this continent called Eltanin. Our Empire is located in the northern part of Eltanin. These beasts absorb spiritual energy and contain it in their bodies to acquire more strength, and the longer they live, the stronger they are."