Disclaimer: I do not own Jackie Chan Adventures.
Betaed by: Zim'smostloyalservant
Fourth Age (Part 2)
The Mother
Yade knew it could not be heating up; the Dome was very carefully temperature controlled. So it could be her own body heating up and cooling down in segments, more acutely than normal. But she was very careful to keep her hands and tendrils stable.
It was not every day one held something this important, after all.
"Hello Nuwa," Yade said to the hatchling Neukhan girl. The newborn was not chubby like human babies, having both used up the nourishment of the egg and grown large and angry enough to escape its confines. Rather than the black scales she would get, she was covered in a light gray coating of scales that puffed and collapsed loosely at the joints, and everywhere but her head had a looseness that gave Yade the impression of a onesie. And her tail, only half as long as her legs right now, moved, stroking Yade's palm.
The hatchling's eyes were closed, the adorable snouted face turning slightly this way and that as the nostrils breathed in and out, making the tiny chest rise and fall. A tendril stroked the small mohawk-like streak of silver hair pressed wetly on the head. Nuwa reacted wth a whistling cry. Not of distress, though. Yade moved the tendril to trace her face, the slight warming up seeming to calm the girl before moving to stroke the thin belly.
Despite knowing it wouldn't happen for days, Yade wished the eyes would open. Slithering from her spot, she took care not to jostle the tiny girl.
"He's beautiful," Hebi said. Yade looked up from the hatchling toward Hebi. She had gone down on her knees and was cradling the male close to her shrouded body. It looked a bit like a hammock, her hands visibly pressing through in some places while in others she was using the cloth.
"His name is Fuxi. These two are a beginning, after all," Yade almost frowned when the rocking motions Hebi made with the cloth bed of her robe made Fuxi unmistakably giggle.
No, it only showed she had made the right choice.
"May I, mother?" Lin asked. Apparently her daughter considered it a formality, as she was already reaching to snatch the hatchling out of Yade's hand, staring at Nuwa wide-eyed.
Yade grabbed her hands with tendrils around the wrist and slithered past her before answering.
"Hebi," Yade said to her daughter. Hebi looked up from the tiny boy, "I have chosen you to be the mother to the first Neukhan."
"What?" Hebi gasped. Yade placed the girl in Hebi's grasp, watching her daughter quickly arrange the cloth so as to not bump the two together.
"You thought I would reserve the right of motherhood for myself? No, I will be the Grand Mother of the Neukhan, the maker. It will fall to you this role, my daughter."
"And what of the rest of us?" Lin asked, tone rising slightly. Yade turned her head on its pivot to look at Lin.
"Hebi will determine your roles as aunt and uncles. And of course, you will still have your work as we ensure Hong Sisco is truly stable for us all to inhabit. Lin, you in particular will have to assume significant portions of Hebi's duties for several years, at least. A role I believe you are well suited for."
Yade slithered back, taking in the sight of her family in the moment, striving to engrave it in her memory. Hebi protectively cradling Yade's first grandchildren. Shen looking over his sister's shoulder curiously. Jack aloof but clearly interested to the side. And Lin, contemplating the situation, chin upon her fist.
Her family was growing, and as the plan proceeded, she would literally have the world to give to them.
Yade Khan smiled, purring contentedly over her razor-sharp fangs.
X X X
What followed were good years, Yade admitted.
Hebi's first panic was over the fact she had only one breast for two babies. Well, the need seemed to inspire growth in that department. Though her carapaced daughter's feminine features of course never rivaled Yade's own.
The first change was her own closeness to Hebi. Yade had basically dwelled in any space of the fortress that the children had not claimed for themselves. A vast home, but perhaps that vastness had made her lack intimacy with her surroundings despite crafting them. Now, though, as the only one with mother experience to call on, Hebi's desire for her counsel saw her move into Hebi's space. Any time not spent on duties regarding Hong Sisco, the star, or her asteroid project, went to assisting Hebi.
Her grandchildren knew her. And while Yade could reluctantly accept they reacted more positively to Hebi with her body still shrouded more often than not, her face to these mortals was a thing to be greeted with joy. Her form was nothing to be horrified of. Grand Mother Yade Khan was, and would remain, to this world a natural and wonderful part of it.
But it was not just the two of them. Hebi had become familiar with the "village to raise a child" concept and applied it. Shen was clearly the father figure, more reliable to follow Hebi's directives unless he had a more compelling reason than Jack's freedom-minded whimsy with children. And while focused, he lacked the intensity Lin seemed to bring to interacting with the children.
As vexing as Jack's nonchalance was to Yade, he was not too big Yade would not smack him around if he endangered the children by failing to maintain proper boundaries. Lin did nothing wrong, but her actions with the children seemed a tad… off. Once, Yade was sure Lin had been deliberately mimicking Hebi's body language to Fuxi and had stopped only when it resulted in the now-toddler crying. Lin immediately was the quiet aunt again, comforting the girl with her whistling and tantalizing her with the tip of her tail.
Strange moments and oddities from the corners of Yade's eyes.
It meant nothing, Yade decided. If anything, it merely meant Lin was not as good with children. And she had already guessed as much, it was why Hebi was chosen, after all.
So many pleasant memories — her coils used as a fort. Ducking underwater so her tendrils could be a sea monster; the fact her face had to be hidden for that to work was very satisfying. Or just providing a bed for a weary Hebi with coils when the young monster passed the children to her. She was quite long enough these days to babysit in one room while the rest of her served as a bed in the next room.
She could go on. But as puberty set in, she knew it was time.
X X X
"Sixteen?" Lin sputtered, looking over the decanters in the Mortal Dome. Yade was closer to the decanters, coils around several, carefully sensing the Neukhan forming within.
"Do I detect disapproval?" Yade asked, glancing to her daughter.
"Well, kinda?" Lin said, waving her hand back and forth. Lin's toe claws clacked on the polished, sterilized stone floor currently adorning the dome as she made her way over. She laid a hand atop part of Yade as she looked into the decanter, trying to make out the tiny life within using only her eyes.
"Sixteen is a good number. We are building a thriving race, and with the asexuality in play, we need a decent start up number to ensure no bottleneck develops early," Yade said. Lin groaned, sitting down on Yade in a huff.
"Well, why not four then? Or another pair? You realize this will mean more children than adults in the palace?" Lin remarked.
"I know a thing or two of being outnumbered by children, thank you very much," Yade said. She slid to inspect another decanter, Lin riding along on the short distance.
"And you see that as desirable?" Lin deadpanned.
"More a good idea than desirable," Yade said.
"That statement makes no sense, mother," Lin deadpanned.
"We typically desire things to be easy. Or only challenging in the ways we want, Lin. These children will push us. Vex us. Prepare us for the delicate process of ruling over the mortals as gods. Just as I hope Nuwa and Fuxi to not only learn from being elder siblings to prepare for parenthood, but also for rule. The Neukhan are not human, and even I have little experience with non-human civilization. This will both be the seed taking root and our chance to study and hopefully guide the process without denying it a proper natural growth."
"Seems needlessly convoluted mother," Lin remarked, eyes rolling up toward the ceiling.
"It's parenthood, politics, and education all rolled into one. Oh, and sociology. If it weren't confusing and contradictory, we would be doing something wrong," Yade said. Lin watched her mother plant a light kiss on a decanter and turned to leave.
She supposed there was little point in discussion. In the end, for all Mother might listen, what she decided would happen would be what happened. Discourse to her was politeness, not a necessity.
X X X
For all the complications and stresses, Yade did not regret her decision to unleash so many children in the slightest.
The planetary and stellar system, such as they were, were stable. The moon had the last few kinks worked out, even. Desolate for now, but Yade was planning on using it as lab space for potentially hazardous magics and life creations. So for the time being, desolation was not only fine but ideal.
And she had finally gotten it to appear in the shade of red she wanted from the surface. Ad on certain nights it would appear to be surrounded by luminescent blue halo! She was hoping they made the leap to calling it an eye. That really was what she wanted the mortals to take away from a haloed moon night. A heavenly eye benevolently looking down on them, seeing all.
For the moment, though, she was soaking in the first bathing house. It had been modified slightly over the eons to maintain it, but Yade had kept it to the initial design. Tucked here deep within the now massive complex of the Grand Palace, this early effort was one of the many reminders of how far her skills had come. But then, it was a fact the palace in general grew more splendid the further you went from the center only to then taper off toward the edges to a more practical if still magnificent level of ornamentation. It was here she had made the first of many improvements to her body, as she shed the remnants of a human form to assume her truer form, fitting her stature as the goddess of this realm.
How strange to be here again, the same place yet so different, her form more magnificent and larger than ever. But more importantly, the company. This slightly luxurious fortress against the monotonous solitude now echoed with the laughter of children. And the laughter and curses of adults and older children trying to curtail the chaos. All while failing to keep themselves from being entirely caught up in the mood.
Incense was burning as well, from burner lines set up by the children to surprise her, lending a pleasing aroma to the admittedly stuffy room. And Shen had quite easily improved the ventilation with simple but forceful magic expanding the afterthought vents she herself had installed at some point.
Yade herself was serving as both base and a secondary jumping edge for the children. Her coils piled to emerge from the water, she watched events from flat on her back under water. Her limply drifting tendrils were brushed aside when a Neukhan boy named Tahhedus swam up to her face. Her eye illuminated his face slightly as she looked at him. Grabbing the bases of two tendrils above her brow, he puled himself close enough to give her a kiss on the snout.
Laughing, Yade released the air in her lungs and scooped the boy up in her arms. Rising up and breaking the surface holding the handsome white-haired boy to her chest, she took a deep breath, savoring the scene of her family in every way.
Even Lin was enjoying herself, overseeing a low-to-the-ground grill of sorts, and trying vainly to prevent an early sampling by four of the children hovering about her workspace. And Hebi had actually donned a one-piece. She was currently hairless and breastless, even in shape. But her carapace had a wonderful curving nature, and caught the light in a subdued prism. Shen was practically a lifeguard in his scrambling and shouting. Jack not helping, by helping the children's fun, including a girl, Arianna, perched on his shoulders and chasing two of her siblings at the girl's command.
It was more grand than any palace.
Three Years Later:
Nuwa looked up at the Grand Mother, hands clasped over her chest as she tried to maintain her breathing. She looked to Grand Mother's own chest; twice as many and far larger, even considering the creator's size. They weren't moving now. She could remember when she had first noticed that the matriarch of the family did not always remember to breathe. Mother had told her to not mention it to Yade Khan herself. They were family, but the Grand Mother, as her title suggested, was something beyond them. A fact you forgot only to remember with a sight or a casual act that defied what came naturally to the rest of them.
Though Nuwa sometimes wondered about Aunt Lin.
"You know, I honestly wish those wrappings had not caught on as a standard," Grand Mother said. Reaching out with one of her lower hands, she felt the purple and golden-dyed robe that covered most of Nuwa's form. Made from her mother's own silk, Nuwa found it quite a bit better than the nudity of the elder.
"Your forms are glorious, you should not hide them so. But it is your choice to make," the Grand Mother shrugged. She slithered, adding another layer surrounding Nuwa on the deserted field.
'What is it about her when I'm alone?' Nuwa wondered. The eye was no less tender, and she was certain the flesh no less smooth and cushioning to the touch. But even if for no one else, Nuwa felt as if at a word, her Grand Mother could send her plummeting through the ground and away and no one would dare ask why or even ask after her absence.
"It's okay to be nervous. It's very important you remember that, little Nuwa," her Grand Mother said.
"Nervous about what, Grand Mother?" Nuwa asked. She was grateful her voice remained calm. The elder smiled indulgently at her, showing off her beautiful teeth.
"Why, courting Fuxi, of course. And what comes after. You will be quite the pioneer, Nuwa. Don't deny it, I have been watching you two. The spark is there. The interest. As it should — after all, I did my best to ensure you would have both a healthy appetite and the desire. I had planned on letting you figure it out or something, but time is ticking and I don't see any progress."
Nuwa's tail heated in embarrassment. Talking to her mother had been bad enough. Aunt Lin had been worse. The human literature she provided on such matters… Nuwa actually glanced, wondering if her tail was really catching fire.
"And you see, Nuwa, the birth of yours and Fuxi's children will be the event to mark this Grand Palace taking its long prepared place on the surface of Hong Sisco. The true beginning of your race as a standing species and the completion of this world," Yade Khan said, pointing to where Hong Sisco loomed in the skies.
Nuwa sucked in a breath. She had wondered why the Grand Mother delayed her unabashed desire to take up residence on the planet.
Turning back, she bit down on a small shriek. The elder had moved silently and was now right in front of her face, arms and tendrils braced on the ground as she stared at Nuwa, face-to-face.
"I just want you to know that there is no reason to be embarrassed. We all know how you feel. You don't have to hold back or go slow for some fear of that. And I will do everything I can to help you along, you just have to ask. After all, once those hatchlings come out of those eggs, you, me, all of us, will finally and truly go home," the red eye drifted closed as Yade Khan smiled and actually breathed in air. Watching her chest rise, Nuwa could swear she actually felt the wind of the elder's inhale ruffle her hair.
"And frankly, Nuwa, as he doesn't seem keen to do more than stare and sigh, I think you need to take charge of the courting. And why not? A woman can chase a man as well as a man can a woman. We can dispense with nonsense role fixtures before they even get built," Yade Khan said casually.
Soon enough, Nuwa convinced the elder that all was well and would go as she wished. The coils retracted, and Nuwa watched as the Grand Mother dropped low to the ground, letting the grasses of the Vermillion Plains partially conceal her. A path was carved before Nuwa's eyes as the vegetation gave way before an elegantly moving but no less unstoppable force.
Nuwa realized she would not risk delay. She would need to prepare Fuxi as much as herself, perhaps, but Yade Khan's desires were something she dared not press.
X X X
The time had finally come. Shen had been hearing that for most of a day and night.
The first all-natural clutch of mortals had hatched. Four eggs. Three females and a male. Fuxi and Nuwa had opted to name them in the Chinese tradition from the Allowed Knowledge that Mother had for the mortals. They had still managed to name one of their daughters with a Korean name, though. Mother and Jack had insisted he not correct them. Personally, he felt failing at a task such as "give my children all Chinese names" did not bode well for the mortals' prospects, having been made purview to Mother's so-called Mortal Management Strategy.
Still, he was pleased she had disclosed more of her plans to him than the others. Not that a lack of disclosure was currently an issue. He had been spared the earlier task of herding the children to the Gate of Magnificent Dawn. Jack had, for once, had that task inflicted on him. The fact they all were present and accounted for made him wonder if Mother had had a little chat with her most impudent and lazy son.
His feet sounded lightly as he walked over the packed dirt before the newest addition to the Grand Palace. He enjoyed the feel of it on his feet, clean yet more alive than cut stone. It was part of a road that cut through the Vermillion Fields to the Gate of Lu Dong Bin. He was not sure why she had not paved it.
It would be a poor time to ask. Even Jack seemed to know better than to bother Mother on what Lin had unimaginatively but accurately dubbed "Her Big Day".
They were all here now. The adults and the young couple were actually more excited than the children. Despite Mother's efforts, he was not sure they quite grasped what was happening. Lin's huge cakes would probably have them more excited, but that was top secret; when Lin and Mother agreed that loudly on a policy, it was best to heed it.
For once, Shen had been the last to arrive. Mother had wanted him at the Pit. The slot that Mother had created and been meticulously preparing for the Grand Palace to fit into on the surface of Hong Sisco.
The plans were for it to form a plateau. Along with the plains beyond the wall in front of them which Mother had earmarked for cropland and pastures for livestock, the Grand Palace would become a plateau, dominating a stretch of semi-arid plains roughly equidistant to three of the five Gardens of Civilization that were meant to be established. Not enough to support a city-state, but enough to let mortals inhabit the Palace to some degree and support villages on the plain below, was her thoughts.
But those were just words on paper. Much like his work on the engineering of Hong Sisco against the crafting of the planet and its moon. The reality loomed and he didn't think it was friction on the atmosphere shield as they descended that made him feel hot.
Though it may have been his vest. He had worn a vest as it was that special of an occasion. Black with a white character for Turtle on each side of his chest.
The void and ether of the Shadow Universe gave way to the sight of the sky of Hong Sisco he had seen so many times. He exchanged a look with his siblings when, at last, the imposed atmosphere their mother had developed to accommodate the other new lifeforms better was dispelled into the greater atmosphere, its purpose served like their former fake sun. What had Mother done with that, he now wondered?
"Uncle," Fuxi said. The young Neukhan, with his white hair pulled back in a tight braid, was holding one of his daughters close. He looked concerned and Shen smiled at him for reassurance. Of course he not only felt the change with his magic training, but he understood better what it meant. Of all the Neukhan, only he had journeyed beyond the boundaries Mother had declared to enter the void. His mastery was sufficient to fly there, but not to maintain the protective aura a mortal needed.
Jack saving the boy had been… significant to Shen.
Looking to his hairy brother, Shen wondered if he was recalling that incident now too. He was puffing away on that blasted pipe of his, breathing in smoke that did nothing, even as Mother chided him on the very idea of the habit. At least it was a tasteful design this time, Shen noted.
He could sense Mother was close now. Likely just below the land the palace rested on. Perhaps even pressing herself against it as she struggled to align it perfectly to fit. She would go down with it, of course. She had prepared a tunnel of soft soil to escape though and harden into bedrock in advance.
The ground shook, and Shen actually stumbled. The rest fell to the ground. Nuwa dived behind Fuxi to break his and the hatchling's fall with her body. Lin cursed loudly and Hebi venomously shot a chastisement for language in front of the children.
"Did we come down too fast?" Shen asked no one in particular. Yes, it had seemed quicker than the plan. If anything, he thought Mother would dilly-dally to make it as perfect as beyond all reason as she could muster.
"Is that it then?" Xavier asked.
"Crap, did my cakes survive that?" Lin asked, looking back toward the distant palace walls across the plain.
"Cake?" several of the children asked.
Shen ignored them, walking up to the gate. It was a light grey stone with the two doors closed, the carvings on it forming an orbital view of part of Hong Sisco. The other side, he knew, had a carved relief of Mother bearing her divine symbols in each hand.
He could easily jump over it, of course.
Then the gate silently split in a seam, showing a line of glorious red down the middle. The well-oiled hinges gave not a sound as the doors opened outward, revealing Mother. Grinning, she slipped to the side, giving a bow of sorts while gesturing with her arms to the sight.
Shen had walked this world, he had helped shape it. Its wonders were no strange or new thing to him. The sunrise over the plateau and the horizon so distant on the plains, as dark sky turned red under the sun as cloud fronts moved in from the north…
Only later would he realize Mother had likely planned the weather along with the scenery to stun them all. That the rough landing had likely been a rush moment on her part, not wanting to miss an "optimal moment of unveiling" she had likely been planning for months, if not longer.
That would come later. In the moment, he accepted along with everyone else the unspoken invitation, and stepped beyond the wall onto the soil of Hong Sisco.
"Welcome home, everyone," Mother said, rising from her bow. A single grey tear slipped from her eye and was swiftly wiped away by a tendril. But Shen saw it, and wished she had not felt a need to try and conceal it.
X X X
It had never been her intention to frighten her family. But she had.
Yade was slumped limply on a mostly flat rock formation, head rolled to grant her a view of the distant Sacred Plateau. There was no worry of any Neukhan being this far out. And the children knew better than to disturb her right now.
Though they may also he worried what they would find.
It had been so unexpected! She had such plans after finally completing her, their world! And not just long-term ones! She did not intend an empty night sky, after all. She aspired to make a cosmos beautiful to behold, ample stars that her descendants would draw constellations from and name. And many worlds to follow this one. But before that, plans for the Neukhan and her children in this new era.
But after the celebration and that cake… she sometimes really regretted her body could not ingest food or even really taste it. But anyway, she had only wanted a break, some time to tighten her coils on herself and enjoy the sensation and silence.
And for the first time since she had ignited a star, Yade Khan had slept. For years. The children of that clutch she had made were adults now, Fuxi and Nuwa entering middle age and having another clutch to their name. Her children had executed some of her plans, but Lin and Jack had been… thoughtful on how to apply the orders.
They had not been able to wake her. Heck, they could not even pry her body out of its self-constriction! There had been no way to know when she would wake up. Or, as Hebi had softly confessed, if she would wake up.
And Yade was wondering why, and would it happen again. And she wondered over her memories. Some of her actions prior seemed… ill-advised. Had she been undiplomatic in assigning Hebi a maternal role, had Lin been offended? Could she have handled the rearing of the mortals in a different way?
Had she been, sleep deprived?! Why did she need sleep? She had only ever slept, save for her exhaustion from making the star, by choice. It had not been needed save after that great exertion. Or had it? Had she simply napped enough and never exerted herself enough in the ages that her body needed to shut itself down to rest?
Or perhaps she had changed? Her body was not her sole domain, she had come to accept. She could push it where she wanted to go, but some paths were easier than others. She had, after seeing the Neukhan children enjoying Lin's hair, tried to give herself some. Even attempting to unravel a tendril. It refused. Aside from the fact her tendril had blood vessels and everything these days, whenever she attempted backtracking her body, as it were, she seemed to hit a wall of resistance, and nausea or something.
She couldn't reject mass either, she had concluded. Save for her near-mortal days when she cut hair off, the only time she had been able to remove mass from her body was her ruined eye. Her body had rejected that poisoned flesh, after what Cheherazad poisoned it with. But since then, while she could grow she could not get any smaller, she had concluded.
It had seemed technical, meaning she only had to be careful with how she altered her body. But this sleeping business. It presented her with a new level of lack of control. She would need to research herself. Possibly with Lin's assistance.
Hmm, she could not neglect the mortals, though. Split time then; Shen she would partner with Hebi to take up the slack. He had proven himself dependable, standing vigil over her more than any other during her slumber, and his obedient services in regards to the mortals.
Yes, Yade decided, rising up and brushing the dusty soil off her self. This was a new challenge, and one thing that remained consistent in the ages of her life was her ability to meet challenges.
X X X
On Hong Sisco, one year amounted to 370.2 days. Brenner's watch, returned by Gragas so long ago, let her keep track of hours enough that she had gotten days close enough to 24 hours to be workable.
Time. It had been pointless for a long, well, time. For her, at least. With the exception of Boaz, even her delinquent escapes on Earth-2 had not fully gained her investment, she supposed. Of course, she may have been insane then, so seriousness was no guarantee of lucidity. And her children, her wakefulness, and their own enduing nature had stretched matters out.
But now, with mortal lifetimes in play, Yade found her time constrained. Her cycle of waking and sleep was approximately fifteen years awake and seven years asleep. They had concluded it was possible to wake her since that first time. Only very difficult, and it did not last long. And to be honest, unless there was something to really focus her, she was not worth much after being awoken prematurely. "Possibly dangerous" was a thought that pestered her no matter how hard she tried to banish it.
Sitting in her throne, Yade was looking over the reports prepared for her by her children. In her absence of sleep, they ruled in her stead. Bound by strict laws laid down by their mother, she had divided the palace and plateau into four quadrants, with their reign over one each. She had strived to arrange the directions and rules in a magnificently symbolic manner. Only for Jack to sink her ship by getting the others to agree to a lottery of drawing marked stones out of a a bag.
She'd just left that little detail out of the Sacred Record she was making for the mortals about their first age.
And the mortals were coming along well. Their numbers had turned the Grand Palace into a veritable city. The only place solitude really endured were the lesser storage areas and Yade's own designated dwelling.
It was… nice. She had been a city girl once upon a time, and this strange city, with its reptilian inhabitants and mishmash of eldritch architecture, perhaps it was best suited to the person she had become.
The mortals gardened and farmed. Livestock grazed the Vermillion Fields, letting the mortals use it without the risk to the beauty the fields would bring. The demand of numbers had made fields a necessity. Beyond the walls a hefty trip, tents had been a regular set up by those working the fields, and barring the few who set out to explore the wider plateau or beyond that, was the furthest afield they journeyed.
And sadly that was the problem, Yade Khan admitted, setting the report aside.
In many ways, this near century had been a stunning success. Her creation of more clutches and natural childbirth had seen the population swell. Crime and disorder had been manageable, no known murders even thus far. And things like disease, while rearing their head…
And that was what was bothering her. The Neukhan seemed, in many ways, as content as she was. But the fact was, she was not as young as she once was. Not old, mind you, she was a spry lively eldritch woman with her best years in front of her, thank you very much!
Yade shook her head at the tangent. The problem was, the mortals were a young race and in danger of stagnating already. Yes, they contemplated the mysteries of the palace; she let them know even less than her children, wanting them to discover such secrets on their own or not at all.
But there was a whole world out there. She had told them at length it was theirs: hers and the mortals', with her children of course. But they had not even set up a village outside to more permanently reside near the farmland. They clung to the preexisting structures rather than build new ones. The drylands, rather than inviting exploration with a challenge, they had let box them in.
Even government. Her children had stepped up into governing roles while she slept that first time. Nothing major, the numbers not even fifty. But even now, the most they did was have unofficial leaders to take issues to her or the children. The highest-ranked Neukhan were those studying directly under her children. Even the Order of Boaz, her personal attendants, who were in charge of keeping her personal palace clean while she slept and pampering her body when awake with the various massage oils and what not, got more respect than they probably should.
"It's nice, but it ain't right," Yade sighed. There was a world and homelands waiting out there for her grandchildren. And roles other than usurping the direct rule of mortals from themselves for her children to assume.
But it seemed she needed to step up as a mother to set things on their proper course.
X X X
Thunder rumbled in the distance, a storm drawing closer, already turning the sky dark despite the midday hour. Yade found it bitterly amusing the weather was like this today out of chance rather than design.
Wishing can be a terrible thing, Yade recalled as she loomed over the crowd gathered in the Courtyard of Judgement. The very place Shadow Walkers had once dueled for amusement, the Neukhan and her children had turned into a courtroom. Yade had foregone her honored seat to take a place before the presented evidence. And the accused.
Three corpses, Neukhan corpses. The murder weapon determined by Jack and Lin's study and confirmed by her own magic. Witnesses supporting the case. And of course, the murderer.
Sheira, a gardener by trade. She had, these last years, reduced her workload in favor of wandering, delegating more to her apprentices. Yade did not know her. A fact among Neukhan that was still enough to disturb her slightly.
The middle-aged Neukhan was unrepentant and even calm as she sat tied and bound. She had even confessed. Apparently, working in food production she had nursed a hate for breeders, the enlargement of the population taken as a mockery of her efforts to feed it. As if she was the only one responsible!
The corpses were fairy fresh. Numbers were still too few for disappearances to go unnoticed quite yet. After all, everyone lived here. This murder had been a trap, with the plan being to mutilate the corpses to make it seem a picnic had been attacked by a sarwaan. The reason they knew better was victim number four had been able to escape the trap and pursuit. And now here they were.
"Death," Yade Khan declared. Her children employed a good deal of ceremony for judicial proceeding, but the Grand Mother herself, Yade felt, carried authority enough for action to suffice in this.
Sheira lifted her head and met Yade's eye with her own gaze. Unwavering, unrepentant. And perhaps even smug.
The improvised guards hesitated to move. There was no protocol in the laws for execution.
Yade leaned forward, and her tendrils caressed the murderer. First they cut the bindings, then they carefully grabbed her. The murderer did struggle, but even with just half of the tips and just a simple once over twist, her grip was beyond any of the Neukhan's strength to break.
It turned out that stoic defiance got a crack with the first broken bone. By the fifth it was gone. And so it went, one at a time, bones breaking. Some she jabbed to break, others were too small and she gave up on without trying. But a bit of magic infusion kept the murderer awake and aware until Yade decided enough was enough and pulled her in, and cracked her skull open with a single bite before tossing the very broken corpse back to the tiles.
"This matter is not closed," she told the mortals and her children as they looked on in shock. The crowd parted for her and, passing the basin, Yade paused for a moment to spit out the fluids from that skull. Disgusting, she thought.
It wasn't until she had herself locked in her palace she left herself slump in a shallow pool and wrap up her head.
The pressure helped her think, and she managed pain despite herself. It was a loss of innocence for them, but it was going to turn into a boon. And she would need to get the story of Karrin, the victim who escaped the trap and evaded Shiera's murderous pursuit.
Victims, victimizer, and the one who defied being a victim. Excellent narrative material. She would put it to good use.
X X X
Banishment. Jack was stunned, and he could only imagine how the mortals felt. He sat atop the now defunct Mortal Dome. Mother claimed the numbers were high enough to no longer need to create more eggs herself. Now it was sealed by her magic for posterity. Lin thought Mother was hiding something in there.
Unlike his sister, Jack could slip between Mother's spells if he really wanted. And he knew there was nothing in this dome beyond what Mother claimed. As if she would hide anything worthwhile in such an obvious place. Save for hiding something in her body, he expected the best secrets were in hiding spots no one would look at twice for sheer mundanity.
But then again, Mother could surprise him, so what did he really know about how she thought?
Standing up, he summoned his staff up into his hand. The rod of iron capped with grey wood on both ends felt cool in his hands, the lines of magic like veins of lethargic ice moving under his grip.
Taking off his fedora, he closed his eyes and let his senses fold over the city.
Mother, of course, was a sun powerful and disorienting. He raised the walls in his mind, casting the world in the shadow cast by her power on his. There, now he was able to feel it. Anxiety and no small amount of anger. But guilt too, and a few sparks of excitement. The sparks he flew past; he could never linger his attention like this. His vision was a bird that could not slow or halt in its flight. There was only direction.
Yes, he knew them. Those that had left the plateau and those that had wished to. And children, many children, innocent in their curiosity. The Neukhan were banished. Save for the scholars and Mother's attendants, and a few gardeners to feed them.
Her plan was clear as day to his perspective. Six nations to be formed. Five homelands they were cast out to seek, and one nation to be Mother's own, here on the plateau.
Shen was already at work, offering additional instructions to an audience on the survival needs in the drylands. Hebi was also at work, though a more calming influence. And Lin… in her lab?
Well, Mother seemed to be lounging or dictating with her attendants while the mortals freaked out over having only a year for the most of them to prepare for a journey most would never see completed.
Jack riled at his siblings' optimism for the trip. Mother intended a great saga, or rather five, out of this. She would not let it be easy and dull. And if there was a fact one must accept in this world, it was that Yade Khan got what she wanted.
Laughing with satisfaction at his wit, and with sorrow for what was to come, Jack patted the secret in his suit pocket.
Being responsible was a pain, he thought yet again.
Hill Country, Two Years Later:
Lin jerked her head, tearing a chunk of the stringy meat off the rod with her teeth. Closing her mouth over the morsel, she pushed it about with her tongue, savoring the spicy flavor of the sauce and the meat's own juices.
Swallowing the chunk, she reached out to the ground beside her rocky perch and grabbed the clay jug resting there. Pulling the cork out, she took a whiff, then with a smile took a swig.
"Urp, that's a good batch," Lin remarked.
A fire burned merrily before her, with four more rods with cooking meat on them surrounding it, thrust down into the firm soil. Not a stool fire this time either; rich woody smoke was enhancing the flavor.
Shifting in her seat, Lin poked her tail into the fire, moaning at the pleasant sensation as the flames licked at the furry appendage. The embers would make a fine bed, she knew, having kept this fire going for days now.
But it wouldn't last long. Looking to the darkness, she saw the great spread of fires covering the nearby hills.
The Jade Sea migration. This was one of the three large groups migrating toward that Garden and the promise of succor and civilization to come. This patch of hill country was the greatest bounty this group had encountered since leaving the plateau, over two years ago. By Lin's consent, they had lingered here for weeks, resting for the return to the trek.
Lin was not sure how much longer it would take to reach their goal. Many had died already, and there were hazards even to her portable nests. Another two years? It wasn't like the Neukhan could travel as the gods did.
Licking her current rod clean, Lin pondered what she could do to aid them. In a way that Mother had not forbidden.
X X X
Yade was biting her tongue to keep from calling out. As it was, she had to struggle to not crush the grand old tree she was wrapped around to hold her view without hovering.
The Neukhan were cheering in the great assemblage before the magically illuminated hilltop crowned by a sturdy, if hasty-looking, platform of wood and stone. Despite several acts, they still cheered for a repeat of the opener. Letting go of her tongue, Yade bit down on her upper lip as Lin finally answered the call and walked on stage.
Oh, but she looked nervous! A good kind of nervous, Yade thought.
The Neukhan crowd reached a consensus, and the Master of Ceremonies produced the relevant tablets, presenting them to the musicians and the last one to Lin.
As Lin began and the music started, Yade opened her mouth wide to make a rather soft, silly sound. She limply plopped to the ground, her mass lazily unwinding from the tree to pool around her.
Karaoke night was a legendary success.
"My little girl's a rock star!" Yade cheered, clapping her hands and looking up at the black and purple night sky.
Isla Lucha:
Jack sat alone in the forest, the fire crackling before him. The woods were alive with nighttime sounds, and the glow worms could be seen blinking in and out amidst the twisting roots. Somewhere, a kernak called, spotting prey.
Tonight, nothing cooked over his fire; he made do chewing on the dried insects, savoring the sweet flavor of their coating and the crunchy texture. Setting aside the bag, he picked up his wineskin and took a drink. A bitter vintage, he noted. But it had been freely offered by the locals, so it had a sweetness lacking in what he had brought from the Sacred Plateau.
Frowning, he considered his surroundings. The island, for that was where he was, despite appearances was good land. But it was also inconvenient, he supposed.
The island was a wedge in the mouth of the Great Paco River. For quite a ways upstream, the river was so wide the Neukhan could barely see the other side. But here at its widest point, the ever so firm foundations of this island cleaved the river. Dangerous waters on both sides, the Neukhan had yet to build boats sturdy enough to dare it regularly.
They called it Isla Lucha, a less than accurate tribute to the Spanish tongue. The island was characterized as a fighter that even the great river's current and the waves of the Sea of El Toro could not conquer.
There was travel between the banks and the towns across the delta that was littered with the islets that imperiled the island's shadow.
He wondered if they would develop this land? It lacked a good harbor to the sea and river. It was large enough to support a robust town, he supposed, but only that. The banks, on the other hand, had the river country and the coastal zone to expand into. And already those who ventured out to the sea claimed stories of islands there.
He could tell them exactly how many and draw them a map. But why? Mother was right — they would find their way eventually, so why take the labor and the satisfaction from them?
A horn called through the night, and he grinned. One of those two girls had escaped their bonds. Such silly mortals, trying to settle their feud over a pearl in this neutral ground. As if a mere oddity of a jewel was worth a life.
The fact they were driven by this growing rivalry between the clans across the river only made it more necessary for him to cast some sand on ice.
Shifting an illusion around himself into a bear of Old Earth adorned with a green hat and a black tie, he set out to see what mischief this night would hold for the two that had made his solitude so entertaining these last days.
The Great Woodlands:
Kass set in her tent, the brazier burning low, turning the many-feathered crown in her hand. The bronze head at the base was marked with the crest of all five clans, the feathers contributed by the gatherers, without record kept on the numbers or particulars.
She had only worn it briefly, but she could still feel like it was pressing down on her mane.
"Not the design I would have picked," a voice called out. Kass nearly bolted from her folding chair but relaxed, instead scowling at the shadows.
Her sifu emerged from the darkness like smoke on a moonless night. He remained silent across the tent, but the light flickered brighter now, revealing much of his muscular form, and his eyes catching the light.
"I called for you, more desperately than I ever have. More than when my father and brothers died by the carrk. Or my mother to the plague. Or when you came at my call when I begged for strength when all had given me up as weak," she said. She thrust the stump just below her right elbow forward at the last word.
"I heard you," he said.
"And you only come now? The five clans abandoned Yade Khan's plans, sifu! They would have split into five nations under these trees. The lore you taught me said what would come then. Wars far beyond the feuds we have known, and the squabbles that have gone too far."
"Perhaps."
"Perhaps!? That is all you have to say!"
"My task was to guide your people to this land and help you survive. The way you conducted yourselves on the journey, and what you did when you came to this land were not my choices to make, disciple."
The chair fell backward as Kass dropped the crown and reacted. She caught the blow on her good arm, but failed to deflect. She winced, certain the bone was bruised, trembling from holding back the elbow of her sifu's strike.
"I gave you strength. I taught you and the others the disciplines. I came to teach you when you called, and I stayed by your side because you accepted limitations of ended raids, but rather than give up looked for other roads to reach your goal."
He released the pressure and she slumped in her posture, but did not relax fully. He picked up the crown and grimaced.
"Too colorful for my taste. Mother would probably love it. Best she not find out, or she might decide to start wearing hats like it or something," he tossed the crown back to her.
"Kass, my disciple. You wanted me to come and stop the future you feared. But I do not know the future; division may have been the best thing for your people. The path of humanity need not be the path of the Neukhan. But even if it were certain, Mother did not just instruct us to not interfere unduly in your affairs; she also gave a reason.
"Twenty three years your migration made its way, and survived by dividing. Some were lost, others left the quest, choosing lesser homes. But here, beneath the shadow of the great trees, the destiny of this land was changed by your actions. The one-armed orphan, who against all odds became a great warrior and chieftain. And this day, you bested the other chieftains each in single combat, turning division into unity by your strength."
"…They didn't study directly under you."
"A teacher is not a schoolmaster. One has curriculum they serve, the other has students they enable. I gave you discipline and strength. What you used them for, and how well you kept them, was your own. How could I take that away from you and your people? The chance to write your own story?" He said, cupping her cheek.
Silence hung between them, as he lowered his hand and turned to go.
"You have started to become old, Kass. Seek a mate if you would now. You will not see me again in this life. If I appear to your people in your lifetime again, it will be to those who yet have potential to be unleashed. It was fun."
The God of Struggle raised a hand as he faded away with every step. His eyes were the last to vanish, as they had been the first thing for her to see of him all those years ago.
"Yes it, was… Sifu," Kass said to the empty tent.
Near the Boaz River Valley:
Hebi awoke in the tree. Her first realization was that she had left the nest, the second was the fact she was awake. Gently gripping the bark, she began to test each joint of her body and opened her senses.
The main room of her house was dominated by the palisade tree she had built it around. The trunk went down through the floor and up through the ceiling. Hmm, she noted the tree had grown enough she needed to expand the holes again.
The branches in here had no leaves, but she rewarded the tree with her chi for the sacrifice. Taking a moment to run her hands over the now blue bark veined with ember like glowing red, she wondered if it even qualified as a palisade tree at this point.
Releasing her grip, she fell. Twisting her legs around in the joints, she landed on her feet. The impact force jolted her fully awake, and she twisted around to an upright position. Scuttling to the required window, she slid the varnished wood panel aside and let out a whistle of appreciation.
The moon hung dully red in the sky, half in light and half in shadow. The shadow was ascendant.
It was time for her to visit Boaz.
The temple was easy to find; the priests' chanting carried on the wind, and the fires burned in array. The city had grown, spilling outward like a beautiful blot across the north bank. The south was dominated by the paddies. The stillness of the air and the brightness of the moon made the crop marches look like a grand window back at the Sacred Plateau.
Hebi made note to take a casual fly over to take in the sight. But for now, there was duty to attend.
The mortals were all in the right places as she landed, her wings retracting smoothly through the seams and with no unsightly cracking noises as she shifted into a more conventional shape under her robe.
They bowed as she passed, touching their muzzles to the stones of the temple courtyard, then slammed a fist over their heart.
The Himinion was the only one to meet her approach, eyes forward and spine unbending. He looked quite charming in his crown of wood and reeds, crafted by his own hands. She reached out with a silk-shrouded hand and fingered he necklace of tasee bones he wore. Jade fingertips then pressed on to inspect the bare chest behind the necklace. Some folds of loose scales, a sign of aging. But still strong, oh yes, very strong. A fine son of her milk children, yet again he came to her bravely. None had held the office so long as he.
"Meha, we come humbly and ask for aid," he said. The voice… she blinked most of her eyes and shifted around to take another look. He sounded so hoarse, had his lungs been injured?
It amounted only to a moment's hesitation, but she was ashamed to admit the doubt was there.
"You shall honorably receive," she promised. Stepping nearly onto him, she drew herself up taller and opened her robes, easing him inside.
No one outside could see, but when she ignited her eyes, he could. She was past being bothered by the knee jerk reaction to her being fully unfolded. He did not step back or lash out.
To draw matters out would be pointless. With four mouths, she bit down — two to take, two to give.
Stopping was the hardest part. And she knew this one well, so that much harder. But she relented. And stepped over him to enter the temple where the city's ill and dying awaited.
Walking the rows, she sang without words, echoing life and renewal. And for those too far gone, she sang peaceful relief through the final of Mother's sight.
When morning came, they would sing her praises, but she would not be there to hear them. Unless called, it was her place to be afar. And only fated encounters could disturb the solitude of her crafting of self.
Jade Sea Shoreline:
The sand felt good on Yade's tail. The Jade Sea was beautiful, too. It should be a picturesque scene and feast for all senses. But today she was burning things to the ground; that tended to put a damper on things.
As Yade watched, the last building collapsed, and the spells she planted activated, a magnificent string of detonations wiping any usable trace of the complex out. The heat and debris hit her in refreshing sensation. Her purring was cut off as a spell swept over the scene, extinguishing the fires and sending a layer of frost over Yade.
"Lin, you've been naughty," Yade chastised, wagging a tendril at her daughter, and the five-tailed woman touched down on the beach.
She was not entirely naked, wearing boots tipped with inscribed metal, spells Yade could smell. And she wore a pair of bandolier belts.
Her daughter ignored her, staring at the ruins, likely reaching the same conclusions her mother had.
"How dare you?" Lin hissed.
"That's my line, honey," Yade said.
Pulling out a pair of potions from her bandolier, Lin screamed out and leapt toward Yade.
"Tsk," Yade said, swaying out of the way of the projectiles and the kick.
"Don't take to the sky so readily unless you are prepared to fly. Did you ever even spar with Shen?" Yade said as she fended off a backhanded parry. Potion broke over her stomach, boiling a sickly yellow before flowing down to the ground, turning the sand green and crystalizing.
"Was that supposed to exfoliate me?" Yade asked.
Shortly:
Lin struggled against the hands pinning her down to the sands; her tails scratched at the back of the hands and the fingers to no effect. Her mother loomed over her, blocking out the sun, her upper hands placed on her side.
"I intended to let you rampage a little to get it out of your system before we talked, Lin. But that last attack, if I had not negated it, that could have done some serious damage to the region. Please explain," Yade said. Her tone was kindly but her grip did not lessen. And it was not just physical, Lin had concluded — she could not draw any magic to her or pour it out. Was her mother not even using magic to achieve it, or were her own senses for magic being blocked as well?
"You piss me off, mother. That's why I did a stupid thing," she said flatly.
"…Well. That's honest, at least. So, back to the crux of the matter. You were passing on forbidden knowledge to the Neukhan of the Jade Sea. Thankfully, you kept it isolated at this stage. But you intended to spread it. Why defy me in this?" Yade asked.
"Forbidden knowledge. Forbidden by whom? You? Who are you to command what they should and should not know?"
"Their mother, same as for you, Lin. Knowledge is power, for one. I wouldn't give a kid a dangerous tool if I didn't have to, or too much responsibility for them to bear, for example. Besides, as I have told you, it's not them learning that I object to. It's having it handed to them. If they discover the science and engineering you were doing here on their own, grand! I'd celebrate their achievement. But it will be them achieving it. Their species growing and advancing and shaping their destiny. Not just inheriting that wealth and power like some spoiled aristocrat and never gaining the value of the journey."
"And if they never discover? If they remain in savagery?" Yade slapped her daughter with a free hand.
"Savage is a rude term. Less tech and science knowledge does not make people in any way lesser than those who have it. And if they don't advance, they don't. Their destiny is theirs — if they choose to try and live in harmony with nature, say, rather than defying or dominating it, that is their call. Maybe their great learning will revolve around a quest for enlightenment rather than facts of the universe's structure mechanics and other doohickies. What you did here was take away their chance to uniquely grow by imposing-"
"Their destiny? Really? You meddle at your leisure and absent yourself just the same way. You want us involved, but set limits."
"That's parenthood and godhood in a nutshell I think, Lin. You have to balance guiding them for their own good and giving them the freedom to grow through experience and adversity to discover themselves."
"And when will anyone be grown up other than you?"
"Well, it's not a perfect analogy. I think we both know you and the rest will never catch up to me."
It may not have done anything, but Lin enjoyed smacking her mother's snout with her tails.
"*Sigh* Well, it's clear we have some issues to work out. By the way, as you never asked you may not care, but I didn't kill your students. I wiped the last few years from their minds and regenerated their bodies to match, but they are fine. Mind wipes… you know, forcing my hand on using that upsets me almost as much as having to subdue you. You know that?" Yade actually sobbed the last sentence a bit.
X X X
Lin was sealed for now. A house arrest in an abandoned segment of the Sacred Palace.
The plateau was not abandoned now, but its inhabitants were far from the city feel it had once had. Around her own palace, her attendants lived in a circular pattern of habitation in the structures. The scholars clustered around the libraries in small groups. The great storehouses held the workers on site and served as their place of habitation just as their village outside the walls served their farming needs. And the gardeners who had set themselves as distinct from the workers tended their scattered plots like family farms.
The massive complex Yade regarded as like a sea, with islands scattered about. Travel between them regular, but still the vast reaches between were mostly left to their own devices save for Yade and her attendants pressing and cleaning them at times.
So space for Lin was easily procured. And the Platish Tribe, not her idea for a name, acknowledged the lesser goddess was to be avoided by them.
It had been a close call, Yade admitted, climbing a former obelisk, pushing herself up with her tail. The time of her sleep was at hand. She should have been settling down, preparing herself. And Lin might have had years to sabotage her plans for the mortals, or in this case lack of plan.
What made it truly vexing was that it would be seven years before she could really sit down and square things with her eager daughter. Lin was not a bad girl, just stubborn. Still, maybe seven years under house arrest would let her consider her actions and see why she was wrong to defy her mother?
Hmm, perhaps not. Yade released her grip to fall back to the ground. The tiles had been needing replacement anyway.
Dusting herself off, Yade frowned. A certain sense of foreboding had made her check in on her kids, and had taken her to the source. But the feeling lingered.
Jack had been playing poker with a Neukhan and somehow was losing. Hebi was displaying an ability to detach and still manipulate parts of her body. Weird, but Hebi, so she would only ever call it cool. And Shen continued to mediate on "sagas" that were actually her translations into Channish of some Shonen manga. Either she needed to read those again or Shen was wringing a lot of philosophy out of muscular guys hitting other guys and monsters with fake martial arts.
Hmm, looking back, Shen had seemed troubled, barely acknowledging even her arrival, seeking some answer in his scrolls of words and pictures.
Well, in seven years, she would get right on it, Yade thought cheerily. Entering her chosen sleeping chamber, she watched the attendant girl light the incense braziers. The girl actually fell on her tail when Yade leaned close to the brazier she had just lit. Yade inhaled the pungent smoke. A trick to help her drift off quicker so she could awake sooner.
"It's different," Yade said. Her face swung around to the attendant. Weren't there usually two for this?
"Ahh yes, Grand Mother. Alchemist Ryan, he wanted to see if you would notice! That is why I did not say," the attendant bowed deeply.
Yade hummed. Ryan trying a new mix? He hated to try new sandals.
"Well, tell him it's not really better, but not worse. Has an odd taste. Kind of… purple?"
"Purple, Grand Mother?" the kid asked. Yade waved her left hands, dismissing the concern.
And she'd need to revise that review, she realized, tendrils actually drooping as she pulled herself onto the bed. She was falling asleep much quicker than…
…
…
…
Amidst the Ether of the Shadow Universe:
A line appeared in the air, parting the black and blue ether, driving it back to create a void. The line shimmered in its singleness and a drop of red gathered at its base. The drop burst into flame, and the inferno of red shot up the length of the line.
Laughter like fire seeped through the crack, distant and drawing near.
Author's Note:
Whew getting this out is a load off me. In addition to the next chapter already being written for this story I have something new in the works that was actually a rather productive project so far. But given my track record I promised myself I would not post any new story until I had updated at least one of my current projects.
Turns out I am not good at sitting on releasable material. That was driving me nuts.
Any way bad news is that I have yet to work more on the last proper chapter of Queen of All Oni. The good new is that is because I have made a breakthrough with Dragon and Horse. I had to chuck all my plans for chapter 2 there and get back to basics realizing my old plan had held me up for years because it was pushing the story too quickly. So tossing away notions of it being a sequel and instead just another story instead the path has become clearer. And I had a lot of help from other people to iron out what was needed to really get that story moving.
For Queen of AllOni fans, I ask you not worry too much. This story likely goes into hibernation after the next chapter here, and with sweet release achieved on the new project in the next few days I will be able to focus on D&H. And with that done the next obligation I want to fulfill is "Queen of All Oni". So not soon, but we are on the road.