prof | Flameseeker: On Cultivation

What is a Cultivator?
A mortal who seeks to become an immortal via training, meditation, and combat. There are infinite paths for a cultivator to follow, but it generally concerns the cultivation of qi, the vital force that resides in all things.

A novice cultivator is far stronger than an ordinary mortal - they can live longer, hit harder, move faster, go longer without rest, and survive on less food and water. From there, your powers will continue to be refined, through the seven ranks, until you become a true immortal or die trying.

Qi
The energy that flows through every realm, and through everything living. It is the foundation of life, and the key to a cultivator's techniques. Those who can harness qi can, given adequate training, move heaven and earth. The art of cultivation is primarily concerned with cultivating and using qi to become something more than human.

Qi is generally divided into elements, although there is no universal list of what elements exist; it's less like a set of classes and more like a color wheel, divided into labels as suits the user. The Flameseeker Clan, for the most part, uses the traditional five elements of earth, fire, water, wood, and metal, but some techniques refine the distinctions further than that.

The Dantian
A metaphysical organ that manages the flow of qi through the body. Every human has one, although you won't find it if you cut someone open. It exists only spiritually, and the first step on the path of the cultivator is awakening it. This first step is the hardest; awakening the dantian can take years of meditation, or a single moment of life-or-death determination, or may never happen at all. Everyone has the potential to become a cultivator, but not all who try will make it.

Meridians
Your dantian is connected to your physical body via meridians, half-physical half-spiritual constructs that channel qi to different parts of your body. When your dantian is first awakened, your meridians will all be blocked with impurities, and accordingly useless. Much of the training for a new cultivator is purifying and opening your meridians, one by one, and determining what elements of qi will flow through it. These decisions are permanent, and your body cannot withstand having every meridian opened - each one will be harder than the last, until you find you can't open any more, and must work with what you have. Make these decisions carefully.