Ascension Read Online Free PDF

at the red padding.
    â€œYou know, I could always just skip school,” she said, upon performing a high kick in which Duncan parried with a raised forearm. “Stay home, train, and possibly”---
    Duncan cut her off. “Must we go through this every morning?”
    â€œDad, some of us simply aren’t cut out for the world of academia,” she replied, as she thrashed at the padding with greater intensity, the sweat pouring down from her brow. “School is not for everyone.”
    â€œHow many times must I repeat myself, school has, and will always play an important part in your training.”
    An alarm near the garage’s entranceway then sounded, and Duncan pulled back from the training to retrieve it. She watched as he stared down at the alarm clock, shook his head, and looked back at her with a disappointed frown cemented upon his face.
    â€œWe’ve already run out of time. We will need to start getting up earlier if we’re to focus our efforts on energy control.”
    This energy control, to which Duncan referred, was what comprised the most mentally draining part of their morning routine. For Duncan would instruct her to sit down with her legs crossed at the padded floor’s centre, and to empty her mind of all extraneous thoughts. This form of meditation was easier said than done; as after a while she’d often find herself starting to squirm and fidget. And it only got more difficult from there. If, and once she’d done as instructed, the next step seemed almost impossible to achieve; for he would instruct her to channel the flow of her own celestial energy.
    From the time she had turned six, he’d told her how each and every person’s very spirit possessed of an earthen element, and her element so happened to be that of fire. She still didn’t exactly understand the process, and he’d been reluctant to press any further with the training beyond this level. To Katherine, it was as though he wanted her to learn certain things, but at the same time he was cautious to not teach her too much. As she recalled, the only reason he’d trained her in the first place stemmed from a moment when she was even younger; where while drawing in a sketchbook, her pencil had caught on fire.
    â€œRight, you’d best get ready for school,” Duncan said, as he headed for the door.
    â€œMaybe we could break up our training sessions; work upon physical conditioning one morning, and then mental conditioning the following morning,” Katherine said, tugging at the wrapping about her fists. “Also, if you want me to take school more seriously, then I’m going to need more time. We could also break up our training into alternate days.”
    â€œThe regularity of our training builds character. You’ve plenty of time after school to focus on your studies.”
    She looked at him indignant. “But what about the time I need to enjoy life? What about the time I need to create?”
    Without uttering a response, Duncan stood idle before the door, waiting for Katherine to leave with him and head toward the kitchen. His silence was enough proof that she’d made her point; but she could also tell he wouldn’t budge from their existing schedule.
    Having quickly prepared, and scoffed down her breakfast, Katherine hustled out the front door and made her way along Delphi Crescent.
    â€œKat, hurry up and jump in,” Duncan shouted, as he swiftly drove up behind her and alongside the curb in his Jeep. “Let me give you a ride to school.”
    She took one look at him through the driver’s side window, and one passing glance at the beaten old Jeep. She could see that its coat of green paint had started to peel, there were a few dents planted about its exterior, and one of the tail lights was out. She knew that it functioned well enough to get her to school. But she shivered at the prospect of having to face her peers when they eventually