Flakes of snow fell mixed with flakes of ash upon the Blood Moon Sect's Temple-Fortress.
Only a few warriors from the North-South Sect-Alliance were left stationed within those decaying walls. Barely enough men to patrol the entire temple once over, once a day. What was there to left guard? Their purpose was to occupy the Blood Moon Sect's base so that fleeing remnants of the evil sect's would have no solace within the Mountains of Great Snow. The Blood Moon Sect had been utterly routed by the Righteous Sect's combined might. The three Guardians of the Blood Moon Sect, the Peach Blossom Island and the Five Poisons Cult that stood against the North-South Sect-Alliance repelled by the power of their own heroes of legend.
So what left was there to do, but to laze about, wiling away the days until they could go home to their towns and their families?
Two Alliance warriors on patrol were wandering about the Blood Moon Temple's upper levels, chatting, their swords dangling from their waists, their handles far from their hands and war far from their minds; they lolled about with a lackadaisical carelessness.
The guards of the Righteous Sects passed under the shadow of a single-story shrine.
And from above, hidden within the shadows that the room of the shrine made, Zed crouched lower on the rafters. He twisted his hand, the blades in his vambraces sliding out without a sound. Zed tensed his legs, imagining in his mind how he was going to move in to take both of those idiots' heads at once-
"No." A voice came softly, but firmly from behind him. Zed felt Tang-Li, Second Prince of the Tangmen and his estranged uncle, grip his shoulder tightly.
Zed narrowed his eyes at the man. The man who was watching him, upside-down, hanging from the ceiling.
"Don't touch me. Uncle."
"Your adoptive sect has taught you poorly." Tang-Li gave an upsided-smile. The middle-aged man's long hair dangled down from his head like an inked brush. "Don't you know that killing is bad?"
Zed thrust his shoulder forwards, freeing himself of his uncle's grip.
"They're in my way."
"What, you a psychopath and stupid? We can ghost these idiots a hundred times out of a hundred."
Tang-Li rubbed his temples with both hands. How was he still attached onto the underside of the roof frame?
"But instead of just sneaking by them without consequence, you want to gruesomely murder two men with families and friends and loved ones, drawing the Sect Alliance's gaze upon us, and risking everything."
Tang-Li wiped his face with his hands, groaning in exasperation.
How could he shut his uncle up? Zed grit his teeth. Taking a swipe at his until-recently estranged relative never worked. Grrr. It would honestly be easier just to ignore him. Zed looked back at the retreating backs of the two guards, growing smaller and smaller in the distance. Until finally, the two swordsmen disappeared into the graveyard of temples.
"Hmph." Zed dropped down. They didn't have much farther to go.
"Cheer up, nephew. You're dumb but at least you're still pretty."
"The Vortex better be here, old man."
"I can't promise anything. You, my dumb nephew, are the one that wanted to come here in the first place."
Uncle Tang-Li had told him of the second copy of the Vortex of Shadows that these cultists had written.
Their heritage.
And his idiot of an uncle had just been sitting around on his hands while the North-South Sect Alliance could comb through every inch of the place. Zed would have killed his uncle for his lackadaisical attitude, if he wasn't still useful.
Finally, the two Tang clan members could now stroll at their leisure towards their ultimate goal: the Grand Altar of the Blood Moon Sect. One of the blood-soaked sect's more recent additions to the ancient marketplace of temples that they had occupied, the new quickstone shone garishly white against the decaying, ash-shrouded shrines and temples all around them. Like a white tumor the massive altar rose above any other building, a great circular enclosure that rose to the sky. And within it, the dead volcano within, the place where Sect had tried to use to bring the Blessed Isles to Ionia.
The two assassins managed to push their way past the collapsed tunnels and many decaying bodies that littered the entranceways in. No scavenging animals dared tread this dread ground, so the entire altar stank with the stench of rotting flesh.
And they finally entered the central stage. A long platform, hanging precariously over the pit of a dead volcano, supported by three great chain links.
"What a waste." Tang-Li muttered, disgust audibly on his tongue, his eyes looking up and down that great altar. "These fools had the Isle's most powerful Internal Skill at their fingertips. They build this great fortress and temple. And what do they do with it?"
Tang-Li raised his arms out, announcing his disdain for this monument to arrogance and genocide and sacrifice to the world. "They try to bring back the Shuriman. Idiots."
Zed… felt something. Deep within the pit. He drifted forwards, towards the center of the dead altar.
It's down there.
Another copy of the Vortex of Shadows was lying on the obsidian floor below, the black book lying at the bottom of that pit… somehow.
Zed took a step forward, but another hand reached out to stop him.
"We've come this far." Zed insisted. "We're taking it."
"Are you serious? Feel that chill in the air." Tang-Li frowned. "That Qi is not natural. It's one of those Cursed Vortex books that we've had to spend too long to suppress."
It did feel different. Zed could feel it even from this distance. There was something more to the dark aura around that copy of the Vortex of Shadows, like the difference between staring into the black of a painted wall, and the black of the night sky. There was depth and dimension to that Vortex's Qi, as if it were deep enough to lose yourself into… or hide something within.
"Let's walk away." Tang-Li begged. "We can rebuild our clan without having to rely on the Foreigner."
Che. He was no coward.
Zed jumped off the edge of the pit, unsheathing his vambrace blades out from his other hand to dig into the wall behind him, letting him perform a controlled slide down into the dead volcano's mouth. His uncle was calling to him from above, but he tuned him out.
Who cares if this Vortex was just a way for someone to use him? He was going to use that power in turn.
Zed flung himself free of the wall, free-falling the last hundred feet. On landing, he cracked the obsidian floor of that volcano, the faintest of embers rising from the floor.
The Vortex laid there.
Zed drifted forwards, as if pulled forwards by magnetism.
Its power was there.
He only had to take it. He reached out with his hands to grasp that black book.
And as soon as he touched it, a blackened, skeletal hand burst out of the hardened lava and grasped his arm, and for the first time in years, for the first time since he stopped having nightmares of his family, Zed screamed.
She had more free time than she had expected, Akali noted to herself. Mougen was a capable lieutenant and seamlessly passed Mother's previous responsibilities to her, which seemed to mostly involve coordinating survey expeditions out into the lands beyond the sea. Most of them had been suspended once the Sect War broke out and most of the Western Blade's strike and survey teams had been called back. It seemed like Mother's method was to keep her personal men largely here, while gathering the rank-and-file Kinkou to assist sole members of the Western Blades in their missions.
Mougen seemed to know exactly how much of Mother's old work to grant to her without overwhelming her, while delegating the rest to himself and Tamil. He was a good man, and Akali felt lucky to have him under her. However, she didn't fully trust the old man. It had nothing to do with his attitude and cheekiness, though this subordinate could be quite in-ordinate.
Heh. She made a funny. Anyhow, she didn't know Mougen. Or Tamil. Or that Jinha, or any of them, really. So she made it a point to seek out a true second-in-command.
It was well past noon when they finally ran into one another on one of the many floating platforms outside of the Azalea Pavilion.
"Ah." Akali smiled.
"..." Kona stared back.
Then Kona dropped to a knee, clasping her hands. The wind was picking up, blowing her bangs in front of her face.
"Lady Pruner." Kona muttered, bowing her head, hiding her eyes from Akali's view.
"Stoooop." Akali reached down to drag her up.
"At your command." Kona rose and once she did, Akali saw the hint of a smirk on her face.
Jeez.
"Kona… I wanted to talk to you about something."
"You go first then," Kona said, shuffling. "I wanted to talk too."
"Kona… I need a second-in-command. Someone I can trust."
Akali reached up, putting her hands on Kona's shoulders. Heh. Kona was so much taller than her now. She was always looking up to her friend. Always relying on her in Akali's time of need. Even now. "You're my closest friend. Will you take the job?"
Kona reached up to grasp at Akali's hands, putting them between hers. And for the first time… in a long, long time… Akali saw her best friend give a full smile.
"No." And she beamed at her.
"HA!" Akali's shadow burst out laughing. "Ahahaha-"
"Jinha! Die!" Akali started pulling lots of sharp objects from within her robes and throwing them haphazardly at the young Western Blade, who slipped into plain view and started scrambling away.
"Die! Die!" She threw more stuff. Throwing stars. Needles. Random rocks. Jinha made a mistake and tried diving into the water, where one of Akali's needles managed to stick him in the arm and his entire body started to seize up. After flailing about in the clear, sky-blue waters for a few seconds, the young bodyguard started sinking to the bottom of the shallow lake.
"...You've got some interesting minions." Kona quipped.
"Why!?" Akali turned to her friend, sounding harsher than she meant to. She… was sure Kona would accept. "Please, Kona. At least tell me why."
She watched Kona turn her head, staring out at that clear, blue lake. But her gaze went further than that. She was looking further out, into the distance. Akali slowly followed the line of her sight and found her looking out with Kona towards the West, in the direction of the Great Sea.
To the Continent. Kona's eyes widened a bit.
And that's when Akali saw- the cloudiness in her friend's eyes had gone. The clear, sharp, focused girl that she had always known and loved was back.
"...Because I want to find myself."
"Yourself?"
Kona gave a sort of sideways glance and they met eyes with that look.
"This has been your story, Akali. Your journey and your growth." She heard a small sigh escape Kona. "I jealously want that for myself. To grow strong. To carve a name in history. To fall in love."
Akali felt a throbbing pain in her chest and she didn't know whether it was the hole torn out by the Blood Moon Elder's death throes or the wound to her spirit. But she knew there was pain and conflict in her heart.
Because she knew the words that she could say to make Kona stay.
I'm dying! She wanted to scream out. Please, be by my side in my last days!
She- She…
She loved her best friend.
Akali slowly brought her closest companion into her embrace.
"Thank you." Akali whispered. She felt a tear running down her face. "For everything."
"I'm not leaving right away. Because I wanted to bring you somewhere."
She saw her friend glance at the shallow lake around them. "But first, we should probably fish that guy out of the water."
Akali turned to look at Jinha, who was still paralyzed at the bottom of the lakebed.
Oh… crap.
The two of them dove into the warm lake.
After they pulled Jinha out from the bottom of the lake and hit his stomach until he coughed up a surprising amount of water, Kona took her by the hand, leading her through the Azalea Pavilion. They passed deeper and deeper through the palace complex's many pleasure halls and boarding rooms.
As they passed the many courtesans getting ready for the evening, the women of pleasure would rise from their lounges, saluting Akali with clasped hands.
They were crossing into the living quarters now. Most of the Kinkou here slept during the day so they would have the energy to entertain guests during the evening and as such were all beginning to rise and prepare themselves. With their makeup half-done and their hair wrapped up in white cloth they looked like mummies. As the two of them walked through the much simpler halls of the living quarters, the prostitutes would poke their heads out of their doors and on seeing her, would rouse their roommates to greet the new Pruner of the Sacred Tree properly.
'Young Pruner', 'Lady Pruner', 'Young Mistress' they all greeted her and Akali made sure to nod back to each of them in reply, but Kona ignored them all, dragging her deeper and deeper in.
"Kona… where are we going?"
"Somewhere private. We're going to meet with your Master."
"Master…?"
They kept walking, going deeper and deeper into the Kinkou's Southern Base. Until the number of passing courtesans who would bow in respect to Akali dwindled to nothing. Until they reached the very center of the palace.
It was an enclosed rock garden. Thousands of concentric rings drawn into smooth pepples around large rocks made the entire room a work of art.
There was an oculus cut into the roof above, letting only natural light illuminate the room. At the center, was a large rock, taller than Akali was and angled sharply and off to the side. Set at the front of the rock was a small table, with a jug and two cups.
And then the Dragon Maiden stepped into view. Today, her radiance seemed to fit in with the scenery, not overwhelm it. Akali knew about this skill as Master had mentioned it to her, but she had never seen it used. It was the Moon-Closing Secret Skill, an ability to hide in plain sight despite her breath-taking beauty by synchronizing her Qi with the Qi of the World.
Those called the Most Beautiful, the Dragon Maiden had told her, could make fish forget out to swim and sink to the bottom of the pond on seeing her reflection, or make birds fall out of the sky in shock.
Akail thought of the Dragon Maiden always radiating an oppressive beauty since she had never seen her out of battle mode.
She was this way because today was not about her, Akali realized.
"Welcome." She watched the lady dragon nod first at Kona and then at her. "Kou Na. Aka Li."
Akali turned to Kona.
"Kona… What's going on?"
"Kneel. Trust me."
She felt Kona lightly push her forwards, towards the table. Now that she was closer, she could smell the wine in the jug. That wasn't an ordinary drink.
At her friend's behest, Akali kneeled at the small table and Kona did the same. As they did, the Dragon Maiden drifted into view, reaching down to pour a small amount of wine into each of the flat cups.
"Take a cup." The Dragon Maiden ordered.
Confused, Akali reached down for a cup as Kona did exactly the same.
"Raise your cup and repeat after me: Before Heaven above, before witnesses on Earth," The Dragon Maiden smiled. "I'm the witness, by the way."
"Before Heaven above… and before witnesses on Earth." Akali repeated. She saw Kona mouth the same.
"We say this oath: 'May we fight in the same battles. May we drink the same wine. May we rest in the same earth.'"
"May… may we fight the same battles? May we drink the wine?" Shit. She already screwed up. Akali turned her head, glancing at Kona, but her friend was turned away, so Akali simply continued. "May we rest in the same earth."
"'Though we are not of the same blood, we are of the same heart."
"'Though we are not of the same blood...'" Akali repeated the lines. And… they sounded familiar. From an old story she once read? "'We are of the same heart'."
"'From this day forward'," The Dragon Maiden murmured, her voice lowering. The gorgeous woman had closed her eyes, as if in prayer. "'We come together. As sworn sisters.'"
Akali turned to her closest friend.
"Kona? Is this…?"
Kona lowered her head, covering her eyes with her bangs, but Akali could see the tears running down her friend's face. Akali could feel them welling up in her own eyes as well.
Blinking the tears away, Akali raised her wine cup higher. She sniffled.
"From this day forward, we come together..." Akali said, her hands around her cup shaking.
"...as sworn sisters." Kona completed.
"I, witness to this sororal oath, confirm your new sisterhood. May Heaven bless your new bond should you two remain true, yet strike you down if you should break your oath. Now drink." The Dragon Maiden said.
And Akali drank. She didn't even taste the wine anymore.
"And now," The Dragon Maiden opened her eyes. "Before the Heavenly Gods and the People of Earth, you two are forever bonded as kin. The Jiebai is complete."
"Kona!" Akali lunged at her friend, hugging her tightly. "Sis..."
She felt Kona hug her back and all was right in the world.
"Sister..." She heard Kona say back.
A sister.
She now had a sister.
"And now… little Kou Na." The Dragon Maiden tilted her head up at Kona. "You have one more oath to make, don't you? You promised."
Kona peeled away from Akali, stepping before the Dragon Maiden and falling to her knees. The skinny girl raised her hands in a respectful clasp.
Then, she prostrated herself before the legendary maiden.
"Please." Kona said, her eyes to the ground. "Accept me as your student. Mistress Dragon."
"Well now… I can't be unfair to one sister over the other. What would the common people say about such favoritism?" The Dragon Maiden smiled at her little joke. "Then, pledge yourself. To save the troubled and aid the weak. To fight for justice even if you must fight alone. To fight for Ionia, then the World if you must. But to always fight for your sisters. Now and forevermore."
"I do. I pledge for all of it." Kona muttered.
"Heh. Master?" Akail giggled. She remembered her own oath to her Master. "No more spitting at pictures of handsome men?"
"...No. That was the Ancient Tomb Sect." The Dragon Maiden brushed back her hair over her ear, a look of sadness in her eyes. "And the Ancient Tomb Sect is no more. From today onwards, you two are the first disciples of a new Sect."
A new Sect…?
"A Sect that does not hide behind cavern walls, nor let evil flourish while we still have the ability to destroy it. And a sect that will train the women of the world only." Akali saw the Dragon Maiden's eyes, and the life and fire within. Four hundred years and the embers of her life still burned hot.
"Welcome, you sisters..." The Dragon Maiden took her silver sword still in her sheath and began drawing characters in the concentric rings of pebbles around their altar. Akali saw… it was the name of one of the Sacred Mountains to Buddhism, same as the Shojin Sect and their Mount Shoshi.
峨嵋派
"...To the Emei Sect."
Twelves figures, prostrated in the snow.
The assembled acolytes kneeled before their new master. They kneeled before the one that had inherited his father's lineage, his mother's strength and now, his family's Internal Skill.
To the side, his Uncle stood, arms crossed. The Tang prince's eyes were narrowed. So his uncle didn't approve. He could go to hell. This was his Order now. Zed's Order.
"Once, you served the Tangmen." Zed said, holding up the Vortex of Shadows in one hand while holding his hand over the heads of his kneeling men. "No more. We are now a new clan."
"We are those who have suffered." Zed stopped over the last man. The billowing smoke was rolling down his arm and clinging to his disciples. Empowering them. Changing them. Making them strong.
"Our blood has suffered. Our bodies have suffered. Our spirits have suffered."
So our strength will be that which we know best.
眼泪派
The Sect of Tears.
One of his men rose from his prostate position.
Juntao. This man was the oldest of those who survived the Kinkou's massacre of his family, and the first of the Tangmen remnants that he and his Uncle had recruited. Once a loyal servant of the Tang family, the man was living quietly as a caravan guard for the past fourteen years.
In other words, a coward.
But Zed could not afford to be picky now. And Juntao had at least proven his loyalty once again. When He and his Uncle Tang-Li offered them a place under the Tangmen once more, it came with the contingent of cutting all ties to his current life.
The middle-aged man, who had never been more than a lowly officer amongst their family servants, had strode over to his cooking area in his single-room shack, picked up a knife without hesitation and plunged it into his wife as her back was turned making tea for their guests. The elderly woman never knew what killed her. Juntao brought her down and stabbed her over and over until the woman's back was nothing but red ribbons and blood.
When he had finished, Juntao had prostrated himself before Zed just as he was doing now.
"Young Master," Juntao murmured. "It is a joy to serve under a Tang once more. Just tell us which of your enemies to destroy, and we loyal servants will chase them to the ends of the earth."
"Do you even need to ask?" Zed spat out. "Your target is our oldest enemy. Our once-destroyers. And my captors for my entire life."
At this, all of the acolytes raised their heads, their purpose now clear.
They were going to end the great war in the shadows. They were going to strike their enemies over a decade after they believed they won. They were going to avenge the Tangmen, for their target for death was the Kinkou.
And you… Zed's gaze turned to the blackened pile of bones that two of the acolytes stood nervously guarding. Are going to help me do it.
Blood Moon Elder.
The eye sockets in the blackened skull seemed to glow.
There was the smell of fish, salt and the ocean in the air.
They were at the Navori docks. It was the crack of dawn, but still the docks bustled with light and life. Dock workers hauled cargo by torchlight, unloading steel weapons and strange machines from the dozens of ships and loading them back up to head out for the Continent; to faraway and foreign lands carrying their land's native spices, stones and herbs.
The four of them stood in the midst of them all, surrounded yet alone. Their motley crew cut an odd scene in the middle of all the ships and crew workers.
Her sister had only a thin rucksack on, her twin scythes, a small bag of coins and her spirit of adventure with her. As well as a certain companion. Brother Udyr, with all three hundred pounds of him carrying even less than Kona. He had only a few thin robes on, and in his cloth rucksack he had only religious scrolls of the Buddhists.
"Old man." Akali said, smiling. "You make sure to come back to visit, alright?"
"Ah-mi-tuo-fo." The enormous man buried Akali in his embrace and she almost suffocated within his hairy, stupidly muscular pecs. "Once I bring Buddha's Peace to my home, I return to see you."
Ghhk. It was like having a yak fall on you. Akali squirmed her way out of the bear of a man before she straight up died.
"Kona… you're finally gonna get outta my hair, huh?" Akali smiled, but it was a little strained. She was still catching her breath. "Good. I missed being an only child."
"I'll be back." Kona said, her pack already empty of the rice packs that they had spent the night before making. She finished off the last rice pack hours ago, tossing the lotus leaf wrapper off the dock. "And you can have more of those Zongzi waiting when I get home."
Kona turned to the Dragon Maiden, who was hooded in a white robed and veiled, so not to cause a riot amongst the sailors and dock workers around them with her beauty. Still, just the shape of her eyes drew glances.
"Master. I apologize for suspending instruction." Kona clasped her hands, bowing her head. "Requesting permission for a leave of absence."
"Granted." The Dragon Maiden raised her head. "Go, then. Your assignment is to travel to many foreign and distant lands. Seek out powerful and righteous women for our cause, and bring them into our fold."
"Understood." Kona raised her clasped hands and lowered her head further.
Kona then turned to Akali.
"Akali... there's something I want you to have."
Kona hefted one of her scythes off of her hip. She spun it once in her hands. "The Pruner of the Sacred Tree should use a kama."
"Kona… I..."
"It's just a loan, though." Kona tilted her head. "You're going to promise. To give that back to me. With your own hands."
"I… of course." Akali bowed her head. "Thank you for the 'loan'... Sister."
Akali hefted the scythe in her hand. Somehow… it just felt right. She twirled it once, shocking a couple of the dock workers around them, before securing it on a loop on her back. She'd have to get used to moving with it quick. Wouldn't want to poke people with it.
Kona nodded at her, satisfied.
Heh. She'd have to give a gift to Kona in return.
"Jinha. Tamil. Come here." Akali called out to her side, at a stockpile of crates lying in the shadows of the dock.
Two dark forms darted out of the carts, and two of her Western Blades appeared at her side, kneeling.
"Present," Jinha, the more eager one, reported first, clasping his hands. Tamil silently clasped her own by his side.
"Remind me, where are Sister Kona and Brother Udyr headed to? I'm short of memory."
Jinha glanced at Tamil, who was his elder by over a decade. He must defer to her as his senior alot.
Tamil lowered her head.
"They are first bound for the City of Bronze."
Tamil closed her eyes, recalling everything she learned from her many missions out into the Continent to "prune" the Tree of Life.
"It is a city over a strait with advanced technology. The undercity is extensive and highly dangerous. Their main exports are metal golems and firearms. After that, they will be riding inland on great beasts to the Empire of Sand, where there live many masters of the forwards-curved blade."
Tamil paused for a moment.
"Afterwards is a journey of many months to the Western Shores, and their City of White. There they intentionally dampen the Qi of the land with stifling white ash and fossilized wood, so as to take advantage of their quality armaments and their well-trained army. Finally, they will travel North to the Land of Ice, where there are many warriors who wear the skins of the powerful beasts that they hunt for sustenance."
"Home!" Brother Udyr thumped his chest enthusiastically and a number of foreign words began to pour out of the man's mouth. All this talk of Brother Udyr's native lands seemed to draw out the Freljordian in him.
"Yes, big man. Home." Kona patted Brother Udyr on the shoulder. Whether she did it sarcastically or for real, Akali couldn't tell anymore. Though the sight of Kona standing on her tip-toes to pat the man was... something else. Akali had to fight to hold back her laughter.
"Good. And which one of those lands have you conducted missions in?"
"Young Mistress." Tamil pulled her head up. There was a smug look on the middle-aged woman's face. "All of them."
"Go with my sister and her companion. Guide these two through these new and foreign lands." Akali lowered her head. "Please. Protect her when I cannot. I'm relying on you."
"Understood, Young Mistress."
"I coulda handled it without her." Kona complained, scratching her ear. "You better keep up, old grandma."
"Have you ever heard of the Xer'sai, those beasts from the Land of Sand?"
"Uh… those are those land sharks, right?" Kona replied, taken aback.
"Did you know that those beasts can swim through the ground as easily as water and swallow a tromedary, its six legs, its three humps and its riders whole?"
"Uh..."
Tamil sauntered up, putting a light arm around the increasingly nervous Kona.
"Piss me off, and I won't teach you the words the locals use as a warning when they see one."
Tamil gave a very unfitting giggle for a woman as handsome and mature as she was. The Western Blade tapped Kona on the nose. "And if you don't dive off the howdah with the rest of the locals when they do, you're gonna spend the- rest- of- your- very short life looking out from the inside a mouth."
"G-Got it..."
Tamil gave a wicked smile.
"Better attitude!" Tamil pulled Kona in closer, nodding up to Akali. "Don't worry, Young Mistress. We're gonna be fast friends."
"Heh." Akali smiled. "Enjoy, you two."
"You're liking this Pruner shit, aren't ya?" Kona pouted.
"You get used to it." Akali held her hand out. "Between Brother Udyr and Tamil here, you'll be safe." The foreign monk was approaching the strength of the great masters of the island and Tamil was one of Mother's most trusted subordinates. There was probably nothing they couldn't handle at this point.
Ah. Akali pat her hand. She almost forgot.
"Jinha. What's your experience with these lands?"
"Hm?" The smooth, fully-shaved young man looked surprised at being called on. "Um… none, Young Mistress. My duties were supposed to have started a year ago, but all of the Western Blades were called back to assist with the Great Sect War. Thus I have not yet gone on an expedition."
Heh.
"Then go with Kona, Brother Udyr and Tamil. Your orders are to protect my sister as if you were protecting me."
"Young Mistress?" Jinha looked confused.
"The experience will be good for you."
"I… By your will." Jinha clasped his hands, saluting. The young man turned to look at Kona and gave a grin. "It is my honor."
Kona just quietly stared at the young man. And she held that stare for at least half a minute. Akali saw a look of disdain on Kona's face when she turned to look back at her, but she knew that was a front.
Couldn't you have given me someone hotter? Kona said with a jerk of her head.
It was Akali's turn to stare at Jinha.
Oh come on, Jinha was pretty hot, she gestured back with a shrug at Kona. Heehee. He wasn't as cute as Shen, but still. He had a good look to him.
"Why are you two staring at me like that?" Jinha asked, Akali noting the confusion visibly spreading over his face, as he watched the two girls flail at each other in what must have looked like some strange dance. "What are you doing with your hands, Young Mistress?"
Akali had just been finishing up 'his nose is NOT too small' when she stopped. With a grin, she reached out to turn Kona around and push her lightly in the direction of Jinha. Kona did this to her, two years ago with Shen. This was her revenge.
"With any luck, you'll find out," Tamil sighed, pulling Jinha away. "Come along, nian qing ren. We've gotta buy some supplies and stuff."
"Kona, you need anything else?" Akali reached up, fussing over her. Heh. Now she knew how her mother felt. "How about some more food?"
"Farewells ought to be short." The Dragon Maiden cut in. She had been silently meditating while they talked. "As you wait, resolve falters and pain grows..."
"Ah-mi-tuo-fo." Brother Udyr bowed his head. "Even Sramanas not wander forever. Even drifting ascetics find they home once again." The great beast of a man gave an equally large smile. "You two meet again, so long as you keep home in you heart."
"Resolve instead to accomplish your journey swiftly." The Dragon Maiden gave a wry smile. "And enjoy old wine, fine food and long stories on your reunion."
Akali had to let out a sigh at this. The old people's club here was right.
"Kona…" Akali reached out, clasping hands with her best friend and sworn sister. "You take care of yourself. You come back to me, ok?"
"You give my scythe back to me yourself." Kona replied. "Promise, 'Kali."
"I promise."
And then the two embraced. Out on those docks, with the smell of salt and the ocean in the air, the two sisters made their farewells.
And Akali cried, long after she left.
It was midday now. Akali stood on the docks, looking out towards the Western Sea. She stood there, waiting long after Kona's ship had disappeared over the horizon, and there was nothing on the docks but fishermen bringing in their morning catch.
The Dragon Maiden drifted to her side.
"Are you done?"
Akali sniffed a little.
"Let's go, master."
Then she turned on her heel, walking back towards the inland. There was still work to be done.
The hole in her chest ached.
She had to survive. Her hand gripped over the handle of Kona's scythe. She would not leave a grave behind for Kona to find when she came back.
She had to.
"Young Mistress… are you ready?"
Akali woke up. It was Mougen from outside the door. The old man's knocks sounded like slapping steaks on a cutting board.
She had been given her own room near the Western Blade's quarters in the Azalea pavilion. A huge bed, a wide table and it all felt way too empty. The quarters could comfortably sleep four people in it. But it was just her here. The emptiness and silence of her first night without her new sister almost broke her.
In fact, everything felt gray and sad without Kona on the island.
Akali shook her head. And then she clapped herself on the cheeks.
No. She couldn't do this now.
She had to be strong. Especially today.
"Yeah!" Akali rose. She had fallen asleep in her gear, so she could just walk out. Even if her hair was a total mess.
Today was the day that the North-South Sect Alliance would converge once more, to confer on how to deal with the two remaining Evil Sects. The Peach Blossom Island and the Five Poisons Cult. And the discussion would almost certainly come to the issue of what to do with the Azure Flower and her grandfather, the Master of the Peach Blossom Island. Odds were, the lesser sects would choose to either blackmail Master Huang by leveraging his granddaughter, or attempt to take the supposedly gorgeous girl as a wife and also gain Master Huang as a grandfather-in-law.
Akali reached up to her robes to trace the hole in her heart. Every day she woke, the Qi gifted to her from the Peach Blossom Island's master grew weaker. Master Huang, she was told, by the Dragon Maiden, was the Isle's most ancient being. And the greatest master of medicine alive since the legendary doctor Yuanhua passed away centuries ago. So she needed him to fix this failing lump of Qi that was keeping her alive, permanently.
She needed to get into the Peach Blossom Island.
And as far as she knew, there was only one way: hold up her end of the bargain.
A life for a life! Was the last thing she heard before she passed out at the Grand Altar of the Blood Moon Sect. That life was surely the life of Master Huang's supposed granddaughter, the Azure Flower.
Which meant if the Azure Flower left the main island and Akali wasn't going with her, she would waste away until this hole in her chest devoured her entirely.
She arrived at the front gate of the Shojin Monastery, at the crack of dawn with a few of her bodyguards. And already, the rest of the temple's guests for that day were awaiting them.
These were the representatives of the other two of the Three Great Righteous Sects who had all come to have a special audience with the Master of the Peach Blossom Island's granddaughter, the rumoured Azure Flower.
The first, the Dragon Maiden. She seemed to glow white, even in the dim light of the early morning. The lady dragon gave a sideways glance at her disciple arriving, alone.
Akali went up to her first, clasped her hands and gave a formal bow.
"Master." Akali whispered.
The Dragon Maiden gave a nod and Akali put herself at ease. They had to be careful. Today, Master and Student did not represent the same factions. The Dragon Maiden must have come here today as the representative of the wider North-South Sect Alliance, those who did not belong to a Great Sect.
Akali then turned to the other members of this special audience.
It was two women. They were pretty… but with their tight hair buns, pitch-black clothes and intense glares their attractiveness was of a very angled, pointed sort of look. And they looked very similar… in fact, like twins.
Judging by their uniforms, these were the nuns from the Wudang Monastery that Akali was to shadow. That meant that Akali and they were supposed to be 'together' as advocates of the same 'Wudang' faction.
Akali approached the twin nuns and clasped her hands.
"Sisters Wudang." Akali said, showing respect. "I am Aka Li, the Kinkou Temple's representative for this special audience. I will follow your lead."
The two nuns coldly stared back. Neither returned the gesture.
"Why does Jun Heng Temple send a child?" One of the nuns demanded, her voice harsh and gravelly. "We were expecting the Pruner of the Tree of Life. Is this a joke?"
Akali mentally named this one Mole, since the only difference between the two she could tell was the dot under this one's left eye.
"Or is Jun Heng so depleted of people that they send us our children?" The other nun continued, her voice low and soft. But her gaze smouldered. This one could be called Nu-Mole.
"Sisters." Akali clasped her hands again, committing the nicknames to memory. "The previous Pruner was my mother, Akasou. I have succeeded in my mother's role but a few days ago. I'm looking forward to your guidance."
"Depleted, then." Nu-Mole muttered, her gaze still fixed on Akali. This broad glue her eyelids open or something? She must have dry eye like crazy. "This is… disappointing."
"Elder Yang will hear of this ridiculousness!" Mole snapped. "The fate of Ionia hangs on today's Sect Alliance meeting and our supposed allies send a child?!"
There came behind the two women a white fairy.
"Guo'er... Invited Li'er here as your guest. " The lady dragon had floated in from behind the nuns and the two of them nearly jumped out of their shoes.
The Dragon Maiden used the Wudang Elder's pet name, subtly putting herself above even the Master of the Wudang Temple. And neither of the nuns dared challenge the insult. Neither of them dared do anything at all.
Heh. Akali couldn't help but enjoy watching the two nuns squirm. Master was angry.
"By rank and achievement… Li'er here exceeded both of you. This child is recognized by Guo'er, by Jun Heng, and… by myself." The Dragon Maiden smiled, her radiance making the two ordinarily pretty nuns look like monkeys next to her. "So you will do the same. Understood, Kunqen and Kunguan?"
Mole frantically nodded, while Nu-Mole simply looked shaken. Both were sweating bullets. Master was radiating a lot of Qi. Standing next to her must feel like being next to a roaring fire.
Akali took the chance to slip away from the three of them. Watching Master torture these two women was getting a bit old.
And then, Akali noticed the fifth audience member. It was a young woman, dressed in robes that looked almost like rags, but on closer inspection, were actually made up of a whole tapestry of patchwork fabrics. It looked like they had been repaired many times. On her belt, she had one, two.. eight bags?
Oh... this girl was a Beggar's Sect member. And a high-ranking member, judging by the number of bags on her belt.
The beggar girl caught Akali's gaze, and hurried over, a wide smile already plastered all over her face. The girl's walking stick clattered noisily against the Monastery's tiles below as the beggar girl hurried along.
"Ah! Are you… are you Kinkou? A ninja?" The girl bent a little bit down to look Akali straight in the eyes. Akali felt the beggar girl snatch up her hands, and she noted that the girl's palms were extremely rough with callouses. "I'm a fan! Fighting in the darkness, defending Ionia from the shadows… so cool!"
"I… I, uh..." Akali glanced around.
"Ah! Sorry, sorry! Forgot to introduce myself!" The girl pulled back, patting herself on the chest. She closed her wide, almost watery eyes in self-introduction and when she smiled Akali could see both rows of white teeth. "My name is Xiang! Eight-Bag Xiang! I'm from the Beggar's Sect, Malun Branch! Super, super nice to meet you!"
"A-Akali. Kinkou Temple… I am the new Pruner of the Tree of Life. Nice to meet you."
"Woa!" Eight-Bag Xiang dropped down to stare Akali in the eyes again. She… she was too close. "You're one of the Kinkou's Triumvirate? But you're so young! What happened to Master Akasou? I was actually really, really hoping to meet her!"
Before Akali could reply, Eight-Bag Xiang rambled on.
"Wait… Aka… Sou? Aka… Li? Is Master Akasou your mother? Did something happen in the Sect War? Did Master Akasou pass away?!" Xiang gasped at that, as if shocked by the very words that came out of her own mouth. The beggar girl put both hands to her mouth. "I'm so, so sorry!"
"No… " Akali was getting a big exhausted just talking to this girl. "Mother is fine. She just retired because she's uh, pregnant-"
"Wai! A new sibling!" The beggar girl gave her a tremendous hug, then started flailing around Akali in that embrace with some surprising strength. "Gongxi, Gongxi!"
Tiring as she was, Akali decided she liked this crazy beggar. She put on a smile, even as the beggar girl was twirling her around in that hug like a rag doll.
"Ehehe. Sorry. I love siblings." The two of them were sitting together at the entrance of the Shojin Temple while they waited. "I was an orphan myself. So I made all the young kids in Malun my younger brothers and sisters."
Eight-Bag Xiang gave her another smile. "So you can call me Big Sis, if you want!"
Another sister, huh… Akali sighed, exasperated. At this rate she'd have enough sisters to form a Cuju team.
Then, the door to the Monastery started to open behind them.
The two girls scrambled to their feet. Eight-Bag Xiang skipped over to the end of the line while Akali hurried behind Mole and Nu-Mole, who simply ignored her existence. The Dragon Maiden took the center, her head high and her gaze focused on the door.
An elderly Buddhist nun shuffled out, bowed, then silently held open the door to the Shojin Monastery to let them in.
They were led through the many walls of the Grand Temple of Buddhism by the nun. It was well into morning now and the Shojin monks were returning from their first training of the day. Despite being ascetics, the orange and purple robed fighters of the Shojin Temple laughed and jostled each other just like schoolchildren as they hurried over to their mess hall to have their breakfast of rice gruel and vegetables.
As they weaved through the flood of oranges and purples, Akali let her gaze wander over those centuries-old red walls, cracked tiles and blooming jasmine trees that dotted littered courtyard after courtyard. The monks here might live simply, but their complex was beautiful.
Tripitaka was not dressed in his Abbott's robes today. Instead he had on but a simple kāṣāya, He could have been mistaken for a common monk if not for his towering physique that would put Brother Udyr to shame and his force of Qi- how the wind seemed to blow hot with his every breath.
The Grand Abbot of the Shojin Monastery rose to greet his guests, setting down his rag and bucket. He rolled down his sleeves and gave each of his guests a deep and sincere bow.
"Amitabha. I apologize for receiving you honored guests like this." The Abbot took up his rag and bucket again to put away. "We have been quite short-handed in the days after the destruction of the Blood Moon Sect."
The Shojin Abbot rubbed his shoulders, striding towards the great double doors of Shojin Monastary's most inner sanctum, leading his guests into the enclosed garden that he was guarding.
"Now… may I present to you, granddaughter of Huang Yao Shi, Master of the Peach Blossom Island."
The Shojin Abbot opened the doors to lead them inside.
She paused, halfway through breakfast and turned her head from within her bamboo-screen room. The few grains of rice on her chopsticks fell back into her bowl.
There was an unusual sound.
It was the doors starting to open. The old abbot had of course, told her ahead of time that she would be having guests that morning. And he promised only women. Only representatives of the Great Sects. And only by her own will. She could receive them as kindly or as harshly she cared.
Hmph. 'Guests'. Like she was one herself in this place and not just another prisoner.
Suo-Na resolved to not give the old hags that the Taoists or beggars sent her a single iota of information. All of them only wanted to learn from her how to destroy her grandfather. Her Ah-Gong.
Ah-Gong was the one who found her, raised her, cared for her all her life.
As long as she stood strong here, Ah-Gong would defeat all of their attacks. Because her Ah-Gong was the Strongest Under Heaven, blessed with immortal life and wisdom beyond all other. He stood for a thousand years against those who would destroy his paradise. Suo-na would see to it that he would stand a thousand more.
The first of the figures were making their way towards her; shadows growing larger on her bamboo screen.
And one of them was… short?
Suo-na poked her head through the bamboo screen to see who it was.
They came face to face.
Akali was taken aback. This girl was so beautiful. No, more than that. She was the most beautiful creature she had ever seen other than Master. But she was nothing like the Dragon Maiden. Her hair was painted sky-blue and her face looked like it had been sculpted by a doll-maker. And her eyes… sad, but in her expression there was determination and cautiousness and life.
She was on guard.
"Ah… are you… Master Huang's granddaughter?" Akali asked, cautiously. She could already hear the Wudang nuns behind her shuffling, probably gesturing at her angrily for her to get back. They could go to hell. She needed to talk to this girl, here and now.
For Kona. For herself.
The gorgeous girl nodded, a confused look plastered over her face. Was she not expecting someone younger than her?
"My name is Akali. Pruner of the Sacred Tree."
Akali raised her clasped hands, and declared not only to the Azure Flower before her, but to everyone else in the room her true intentions:
"And I'm going to be the one to bring you back to Peach Blossom Island."