(King's Landing: Grove of the Burning Tree: 9/25/298 AC) Xai Bau II
"What do you want creature?" he questioned, annoyed at its cold breath and how it began to seep into his bones. His eyes remained shut, and his breathing, calm, as he sat in the lotus position, underneath the burning tree. He felt its eyes on him, as they were prone to do. It spied everyone who came and went, emerging from the darkness when someone would enter. There it would stay watching, studying, before departing back into the void from whence it came.
Xai Bau's students had grown accustomed to the entity, albeit with some difficulty. Everyone who entered, could all feel it. It's heavy footsteps always thundered just out of the reach of the light. Low, guttural, growls, would accompany it as it circled them, looking for a way in. While it would most assuredly unnerve most, he was not afraid of it. The flame protected him, and gradually his students came to understand the same. However, not fearing it, did not mean that he would make the mistake of underestimating it. It had intelligence. It learned.
When he had first meditated, and arrived here, when the creature had been made aware, it had been animalistic, feral. It lashed out at the light of the small flame that had been awaiting him when he entered. A small, precious thing, barely brighter than a candle, burning atop a withering bush. And yet, the monster feared it, for a time. As he opened his eyes, he saw the glow of the flames reflecting off of its own numerous sets of eyes. While it had never spoken, Xai Bau had suspected it understood, for he had seen it listening attentively to the youngest daughter of Azula.
Little Ty Lee had stumbled into the grove, several months ago, whilst in her sleep. The Fire Lord's youngest had spoken to it, a haze clouding her eyes. The young princess had been fortunate that he had been there, for there was no telling what the creature had had in mind if it had drawn her in. At first, she appeared to have been speaking gibberish, but then he heard traces of Asshai'i, the language spoken in Asshai, in the far southeast of Essos. The language his late wife, Talana, had more experience in than he did. It was only after he had spoken to Steffon, who studied and understood the dead languages of this world, that he had been made aware of its origin. While Steffon had agreed that it held traces of Asshai'i, he had added that this particular dialect was far older than even Asshai'i, hinting at it being that language's predecessor.
After the incident with little Ty Lee, and the conversation he had with Steffon, who had reasonably asked why he had wished to know, was when he had revealed the truth about Ty Lee having been within the grove. Steffon had, understandably, panicked. They had both agreed to inform the Fire Lord then, rather than later, or remaining silent on the subject. The repercussions for not doing so would be far more fatal, if the worse came to pass and Azula's youngest disappeared into the void, with the creature. The Fire Lord had taken it surprisingly well, all things considered. She instantly became protective, questioning her youngest on if she held any memory of the incident, which she did not, before commanding that someone was to be present within the grove, at all times, no excuses. She had placed two repurposed to guard her youngest, who was not in the least frightened by them. She seemed to take their protection as friendship, and while they did not speak, Ty Lee had given the two the names; Stan and Boggles.
As he observed the creature, his mind grew dark, delving deep into contemplation of its nature. While seemingly lost in thought, he was not so far gone as to have not sensed a shift. To him, it felt as if someone had thrown a stone into a pond. He could feel the ripples travel through him, resonating out into the darkness. To its credit, the entity seemed to feel it as well, and its eyes, which had been so focused on his own, shot up, and stared at something behind him. Xai Bau rose from his seated position, and turned, to see the burning tree. It had grown noticeably taller, and at its center, was an oily black growth, appearing as a putrid boil on the tree's otherwise flawless golden trunk. He heard the creature's breathing change, becoming rapid, and erratic. As if it was uncertain, then it quieted and grew feral once more, gnashing what sounded like its teeth.
Xai Bau felt his curiosity get the better of him as he drew closer to the black boil, whose oily insides swirled, churning into ever-changing patterns, before a clear form emerged. A single shape, in the form of a glowing red diamond, with a perfectly circular black dot at its center, rose up from beneath the churning oil. It seemed to be staring at him, beckoning him to touch it. Much like the creature in the shadows had done in an attempt to draw him out into the dark. A creature, he noted, which had grown eerily silent. He turned, to see what had become of his monstrous companion, and saw no trace of it. The creature had vanished, causing a sense of unease to crawl up Xai Bau's spine. For several moments he stood there, staring out into the empty blackness. He began to hear a muddled voice speaking to him.
"Master?" the voice said, sounding as if a wall stood between him and the speaker.
"Xai Bau," he heard another voice whisper, coming from within the tree. It was in a deeper, more menacing tone than the muffled voice from before.
"Master?!" Questioned the younger voice, stronger, less subdued, and with a hint of panic.
He felt the fog, over his mind, lift, causing his senses to become clearer, and more focused. He blinked once, heard screams, and dark laughter. He saw Dragonstone, as he knew it, melt away. The second time, he saw a vast snowy field, surrounding the ruins of King's Landing, and heard his wife's voice whispering to him unintelligibly. The third blink found him sitting, in the lotus position, staring at his princely pupil, who sat in front of him, just out of arm's length.
"Xai Bau? Are you well?" Steffon asked, the concern evident in his golden eyes. The Fire Lord's son reared forwards and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.
He could do nothing but stare at his star pupil in confusion. He had been standing alone, he remembered, staring into the dark, but now he was sitting. He looked back and saw the tree, which had grown over ten times larger, had reverted back into its original size, and shape. The black boil, which had marred its trunk, was gone.
'Was it a vision?' he asked himself, the outlandish thought ran through his mind, causing him to question his sanity. He returned his gaze towards Steffon. "I am quite alright," he lied. The prince raised an eyebrow before he saw Steffon's shoulders sink down, into a relaxed position.
"You were in deep meditation for quite some time," Steffon stated, as he placed his hands on his knees, and mirrored Xai Bau's seated pose.
"How long?" he asked.
"Several hours," Steffon replied.
Despite his concern, he had only managed to respond, "Hmmm, interesting."
"Your daughter and Sho Yu came by with their reports," Steffon continued.
"Jun?" he asked. "How was she?"
"She seemed excited. Spoke to me of a fondness she held for Lord Stark's son, Jon Snow. When she spoke of news, other than Jon Snow, she had virtually the same report she had from a fortnight ago."
"Of Tyrion Lannister?" He questioned, remembering Jun's report of the diminutive Lannister having passed through Winterfell on his return from the Wall.
"Yes," Steffon replied. "Other than that, the only thing she found of interest to report was news of catching Ursa and Robb Stark speaking to one another in Winterfell's Godswood."
"Well, the Fire Lord will certainly be happy to learn that," he replied.
"She most certainly would," Steffon said, chuckling slightly, before adding, "Alas, poor Robb Stark, he knows not what awaits him at her hands."
"Why did Jun not wake me?" He asked, mostly out of a fatherly curiosity to learn more of the boy she seemed to fancy. 'Young love,' he found himself thinking.
"She tried to wake you, but you remained still as a stone, and your breathing was relaxed. So she merely attributed it to a not unusually intense period of meditation, which you are inclined to engage in from time to time, I might add."
"Hmph," he replied. "So are you not concerned of Ursa potentially being married to a stranger?" he asked.
"Of course! I am her brother, and I am the second line of defense, after my father, in protecting her. Rest assured," the young prince's eyes focused, "Lord Stark, my father, and I have had many a conversation involving the two. From what Lord Stark says of his eldest, he appears to be an honorable sort, certainly, a better prospect than Instructor Chang wants us to see in his son, Takkar."
"Chang," he muttered. The aged instructor somehow managed to remain just beneath the Fire Lord's ire, but only just, simply by being useful.
"The man has been sniffing around my family for far too long," Steffon grumbled. "My father does not trust him and my mother most definitely does not. She took a big risk leaving the island when she did."
"So I hear," he replied. "However, the Fire Lord knows what she is doing, in keeping the Lady Mai holding Chang's leash. It was a wise move."
"One of the few, anywhere, who can stand against my mother and have a chance at victory," Steffon stated of the Fire Lord's closest, and only friend. "Chang would be a fool to challenge someone of her skill. Takkar, on the other hand, is far more subtle. But he is not as good as he thinks he is, at hiding it."
"Still believe he is capable of bending lightning?"
"Possibly," Steffon responded, in low voice. "I have seen how he moves when he spars. I may not be a bender, as far as I know…"
'As far as he knows?' Xai Bau thought, catching the statement.
"…but I studied enough, in my youth, to know what the stances were. Coupled with Chang's constant boasting of Takkar being my sister's rival and Takkar's relative silence on the subject. It's almost a certainty. His bending form is excellent, no doubts there, but from what I remember of Ursa's stances, and her own skill, Takkar, alone, is still not enough to best her in fair combat. He would have to have something in reserve, something my sister would have no counter for."
"And you suspect lightning?"
"Yes," Steffon replied. "Jun's reports on Ursa's progress, or lack thereof, in lightning bending, would seem to add merit to this. Especially if Chang or his son somehow found out."
"You mentioned, 'not being a bender, as far as you knew.' Care to elaborate?"
Steffon chuckled, "It slipped out, I should have known you would catch it." The young prince sighed, "I am currently pursuing a personal 'self-development' project with the Alchemists' guild."
"Oh?"
"The last time I was in King's Landing, I was being drawn to the guild. However, I had also been tasked with the mission of speaking with Lord Arryn, so I did not allow myself to be distracted. Now, as I wait for the King to set up a feast, in my honor, before I leave. I have nothing but time to find out why I was being drawn to it. I have stood in front of a cache of Wildfire, and you know what I felt?"
He remained silent, lifting his brows slightly, as a signal for Steffon to continue.
"Stronger. But Wildfire is not a substance that I can reliably test, not in secret, at any rate. If it all turns out to just be my mind playing tricks on me, then the fire could consume me. I would need a wide, secluded area, in order to safely test it. But with my mother watching my every move, it would be difficult to do so."
"Why hide it from her?" he asked.
"Truthfully? I do not know how she would react. If it turns out that I can control Wildfire, even if I cannot produce it, then it could trigger her paranoia. I would wield the one substance capable of incapacitating even her. In the event that she accepts it, truly accepts it, she may groom me to be her heir, and leave Ursa with nothing. It is the one thing my sister truly wants, what she needs, and I could not bear taking it away from her." At the last, Steffon remained silent, in quiet contemplation. "However, this is all speculation. When I uncover more, I will speak to you on it. As for Sho Yu's report?"
"Yes, what of the goings on at the Wall?"
"Nothing alarming," the prince said. "Viserys Targaryen and the brothers of the watch he took with him, on his ranging, have yet to return. The First Ranger, Benjen Stark, has assured Sho Yu, that it is not too strange an occurrence to have a ranging be overdue for several days. He did report having seen dark clouds forming to the far north, over the horizon. Similar to the one the Night's Watch had seen several years prior. Sho Yu asked the Lord Commander of it, and Mormont had responded that 'nothing much had come of that one, so it was nothing to worry about.' The majority of the watch did not appear to be overly concerned, only slightly fearful of Viserys and the rest of their brothers being caught in it."
"Well, someone built that monstrosity for a reason, even if nothing appears to be happening," he stated looking towards the prince, who wore the same garb as he had before, the uniform of the Grand Academy. This time, however, a small golden rose pin adorned the upper left side of his black and red vest.
"That is my mother's reasoning as well, along with some prodding by the red priestess."
He could not help but ask, "A new bauble?" He nodded his head towards the golden pin.
Steffon glanced down towards his chest, putting his left hand over it, thumbing it between his fingers. "A gift, or so my mother says, but I know what it means." The Fire Lord's eldest exhaled, breathing through his nose. "She knows," was all he stated, and Xai Bau knew to what it referred. To whom it referred.
The finality of the statement held no room for discussion, and he knew to drop the subject, in favor of a new one. But even as he thought so, he could not understand the boy. He knew Steffon. He knew that the boy loved his family, loved the Tyrell girl, or at least thought he did.
'Young love was a fickle thing,' he thought to himself.
Even after Steffon's deceit as a child, which led many to believe he was a bender, including the Fire Lord herself, he still cared, even for the Fire Lord. Steffon still loved her as any child would love their mother, even in her darkest moments of anger and frustration. The young prince still respected her decisions, even if he did not wholly agree with them. Her subtle threats, her continuous absence in his life, her constant disapproval, and yet, the boy still cared. When faced with such hardship, Xai Bau could not help by find himself respecting the Fire Lord's eldest, for he knew he would not have shown the same restraint.
'The boy was young, barely six, foolish, and he had not thought it through,' he recalled. After hearing of his 'abilities' at firebending, the Fire Lord had chosen to bring her eldest into her audience chamber.
'Which itself had been a pale imitation of those of her predecessors,' he remembered.
Steffon had been ordered to present his skill, and he had been fortunate that the Fire Lord had only allowed her husband and the very best benders to view the proceedings, numbering only twenty four, himself included. Lord Stannis stood beside the sitting form of the Fire Lord, both had been wearing stern and observant faces. He remembered his knees growing sore after kneeling for five hours, watching the boy struggle and fail to produce even the smallest amount of flame. The room had grown hotter and hotter, its temperature rising with the blue flames, as the time wore on. When the final moments of Steffon's display, drew to a close, the Fire Lord issued a low whisper, ordering all of them to leave. Only Lord Stannis, the Fire Lord, and young Steffon, who had fallen to his knees in exhaustion, had remained behind. Steffon never told him, and he never asked, what words had been exchanged between the three, only that it pained the boy to think of it. Ever since then, the boy sought to excel in everything he could. Xai Bau rarely spoke to Lord Stannis, but those few moments that he had found himself doing so, he saw pride swell up in the Lord of Dragonstone's eyes every single time someone uttered Steffon's name. However, during those moments when he spoke of Steffon, to the Fire Lord, he could only see disdain and betrayal.
"Have the investigations, into Commander Slynt's murder, yielded any results?" he asked, curious on if any evidence of his involvement had been uncovered, although he was confident there was none.
"No," Steffon stated. "You play a dangerous game, not informing my mother."
"I am not without teeth, my prince. The man, and his stooges threatened to close down the tea shop. Likely under Baelish's orders. The Fire Lord was out of contact, and I was not going to have her return to a tea shop, turned brothel, owned by Littlefinger. It's best that she does not know, and in the off chance that anything is found, I will accept responsibility. She need not sully her hands in it. Besides, it's not as if she wasn't going to have him killed later on."
"True enough. At any rate, Lord Stark does not seem to be too terribly concerned about the investigation. Especially not after my mother educated the Lord Hand on Slynt's more…illicit, activities. As it is, my parents are preparing to lead Lord Stark into another investigation."
"Is the Grand Maester still hounding your mother for the book?" he asked.
"Yes, but she will not part with it, lest someone grow fond of inks and quill. The Grand Maester stands on a double edged sword, and my mother knows this. He cannot inform Cersei, or Cersei will, without a doubt, force a confrontation regarding the contents of the book. The King is likely to support any arguments my mother puts forth."
"Having the smith and the little girl, safely tucked away on Dragonstone, will no doubt assist in such matters," he added.
"I should hope so, and even if the King does not support my mother's arguments, both she and Cersei are going to be answering some hard questions. If by some miracle, they both emerge unscathed, Pycelle is a dead man. Both of them will have him murdered for causing them such embarrassment."
"I do not envy his position," he stated bluntly.
Steffon snorted his response, "Neither do I."
