Amdirlain's PoV - Northern Tibet - West Wind's Court
The young boy assigned to lead them buzzed excitedly, his eyes roaming over the view from above the city, but he still paid enough attention to direct their route northwards. As they travelled, the rumours circulating over the last day were loud in his mind.
I made a whole constellation dedicated to the martial prowess of the tournament? What were they smoking to come up with that idea?
Their trip above the streets attracted minimal attention since they weren't alone in flying. As they neared the area that Sarah’s drone had identified as the city centre, Amdirlain discovered that the tent, which contained a palace-sized spatial expanse, was actually the court's library. Millions of texts with magical preservation filled the niches of the bookcases that were in nearly all of its rooms.
When they finally landed near their assigned tent, the nearby crowds drew back to maintain a polite distance.
They were led to a tent slightly larger than the house's footprint, with a front flap lifted into a wide awning; beyond the dropped entry was a dimensional space four times the original size of her courtyard in the Outlands. The dimensional threshold meant she'd have a slight problem.
At least they were nice enough to allocate us a place that's a manor internally.
As Amdirlain considered their assigned accommodation, their guide fidgeted nervously. "It's a nice tent, but is it okay to take it down and use our own?"
"I don't know anyone nearby to talk to about that," the young boy replied, his fingers twitching in the folds of his long sleeves. "I can run back to check with the clerks."
Amdirlain motioned for him to hold up. "You won't need to run. Should I bother that clerk?"
"He's who I would ask, Lady Am."
An image of the man who registered their details appeared before Amdirlain, and the man almost fell off his chair at the illusion of their group appearing near him.
"Lady Am, what is it you need?" stammered the man.
"This tent is unsuitable. Please send someone to pack it up so I can put something usable in its place."
Amdirlain cut off the illusion.
"We'll wait here under the awning," said Amdirlain. "I hope you have a good day."
Understanding her polite dismissal, the boy bowed again before he trotted off. Amdirlain stepped into the shade of the awning and stood with her hands folded behind her. As the others relaxed under its shade, Sarah inhaled the air near the entryway and grunted in understanding.
While they waited, Amdirlain tweaked her reach, taking in the music throughout the city. She catalogued various enchantments throughout the tent city, many providing the everyday facilities critical to daily life. The etched nature of the runes meant they'd have to be replaced far more often than the infused runes Sarah had taught at the outpost.
Jinfeng restrained her curiosity, but Sarah caught her worried twitch.
"It's not a big problem," reassured Sarah.
"But it is a problem?"
"It's more that we can't use that tent without a regular hassle," Amdirlain said. "The way the Enchanter set it up uses a planar approach rather than spatial."
"Oh! It's not an expanse of space, but a little pocket?" asked Klipyl.
Amdirlain nodded. "Exactly, so if I used it, I might as well sleep on another Plane each night. Which reminds me."
A crystalline staff appeared in her hand, the material glowing as the enchantments settled. A few people who'd been trying to observe them from a distance discretely jumped as it solidified.
"Subtle," teased Sarah.
"I'm not even going to try," replied Amdirlain.
Sarah stored the staff and eyed the tent again. "Are all their enhancements on this level? I can smell the Mana leakage from the embedded runes."
"That's one of the better ones, but it's older."
"They should send some artificers to the outpost to see if they can get lessons from the dragons you hired," muttered Sarah.
"Efficient delegation," said Amdirlain.
Sarah nodded. "I've got a bunch of satellites to build and things to learn here."
They'd only been waiting half an hour when a group of five sped towards their site from the centre. Their inhuman nature buzzed noisily across Amdirlain's senses. All their melodies contained soften chords that matched the demons from Di Yu, but there was a richness among their leader's energy that lent their essence a depth closer to that of a Soul.
Outwardly a youthful female, she stopped and bowed before Amdirlain, holding her arms crossed blocking her gaze and the four with her followed suit. Compressed with her Human form was a being who would have been some twelve metres long in True Form. Noxious green scales covered her from head to tail, the lower two-thirds of her body was serpentine, supporting a female torso with four arms. Flattened features with slitted flaps in place of nostrils and long-slitted pupils hide behind the tanned Tibetan complexion and light green eyes. Under their mundane appearances, one male looked like an eyeball the size of a beach ball surrounded by clawed hands, while the woman beside him appeared carved from ice. Behind them, two males bringing up the rear of the group were of the same species; a consistent coating of dark green glimmering fish scales covered their bodies, with a hint of pink showing whenever their gills flared.
The leader spoke up without straightening. "Lady Am. The Duty Pavilion said your accommodation isn't suitable, and you wished for its removal. Is that correct?"
"It is. Would you pack up this tent so we might deploy our accommodation?"
The woman nodded and tapped a foot to disguise the telepathic instructions she gave. Those behind her scurried around the tent, effortlessly pulling out stakes driven a half metre into the hard-packed earth. As the tent collapsed inwards, the threshold connecting to the dimensional space winked out.
I'm uncomfortable with her not meeting my gaze, and she's petrified of offending. If I insist, she’ll feel worse and probably worry that someone else will take offence, which will be rude to her.
"Thank you for coming so promptly," Amdirlain said.
"This small one is unworthy of your thanks." Her bow tightened further, and Amdirlain restrained a sigh.
Amdirlain hummed. "What's your name?"
"I was too small to have a name. This one is now called Yībǎi èrshíqī."
Cyrus told me about them binding demons with their third eye.
Her name is a number and a pretty low number since I thought he regularly hunted demons. Or is it unusual to take prisoners?
"Your name is one hundred and twenty-seven?”
“That’s correct.”
“How long ago did he bind you?"
Yībǎi èrshíqī bowed deeper. "I've served my Lord for ninety-two years."
"Then how is your number so low? I heard the White Tiger frequently hunted demons."
"Lord Bai Hu reuses the numbers when any demon in his service earns a Soul, gives up, or perishes."
"Is it common for bond demons to die?"
Sorrow flared through her, but she didn't flinch. "If other demons catch us unprotected, they'll destroy us where possible."
Do your genuine emotions show you're getting close? Who are you mourning?
"You're not just banished back to Di Yu?" asked Amdirlain.
"No, if we are killed once bound, we perish utterly."
Amdirlain's mouth tightened into a thin line. "How long do you believe it will be before you earn a Soul?"
"Finding my truth might take another eight years or eight hundred. Only time will tell." Her eyes were aglow with eagerness.
So it's a matter of insight rather than ageing.
"Having a Soul isn't an end to your challenges," caution Amdirlain.
"But it's a step to being better than I was," replied Yībǎi èrshíqī.
"Taking things a step at a time, one can get better," agreed Amdirlain. "However, sometimes, being methodical with your eyes only on the ground, you’ll miss the moments of truth straight ahead."
"I will try."
"May you find your truth, Yībǎi èrshíqī," said Amdirlain.
Swallowing bashfully, Yībǎi èrshíqī hurried the others into folding up the tent, and they rushed off.
"Interesting," said Sarah. "At least you didn't make her explode into rainbow sparkles."
"At least not today," quipped Amdirlain. "What does it look like when bound demons die?"
"Newly bound ones explode into a black goo," replied Jinfeng. "While those close to freedom leave a body that decays quickly."
That sounds like corruption being transformed into flesh, but they don't sound like the corruption I'm familiar with from the Abyss.
Though I don't need to know how it works for them, observing their changes might help me understand.
"Are you going to build a place from scratch or deploy the house and make everyone jealous with all the mithril used?" Klipyl asked.
Sarah grinned and released the house; its long claws tapped the ground before it squatted. Following Sarah's mental instructions, the Psi-crystal controller partially unfurled the steps to sit in line with the other tent frontages.
"A tight fit," noted Kadaklan absently.
Stolen story; please report.
A surge of amusement came from Klipyl as she stroked her hip. "Not really. There is more space to stick things in."
Kadaklan groaned.
Jinfeng's lips twitched in a suppressed smile. "Kadaklan, please save the sound effects for when you two are alone."
Rubbing a hand across his face, Kadaklan muttered as he stalked inside.
Klipyl exchanged a fist bump with Jinfeng before she followed him.
She keeps teasing him, but Kadaklan hasn't risen to the bait.
"They'll give us time to settle in before invitations arrive," warned Kadaklan when they were inside. "Though I imagine the house might tempt some parties into contacting us sooner rather than later."
"Some immortals and Shen are present, so we'll see who gets in touch with us first. If they hold off, we'll go to the library in the morning," advised Amdirlain. "I'll send a Message to Cyrus and let him decide if he will join us here."
"Given his standing with the White Tiger's Guard, he could prove a useful buffer against most idiots," noted Kadaklan. "Though you've already run into one who isn't so easily deterred."
"Hopefully, that isn't necessary. I hoped to leave him out of this visit, but his help with the technique manuals could shorten our stay," replied Amdirlain. "The library is a touch more extensive than I was expecting."
Kadaklan paused. "You know this how?"
"We flew over it, and I've been listening to my immediate surroundings." Amdirlain clarified. "Unless something changes, I'll head there in the morning. For now, I'm going to meditate for a bit."
Amdirlain retired to the bedroom and knelt near a floor-to-ceiling window that looked like a small attic window from the outside. She considered the energy flows as she cycled Ki and Mana through her spiritual net. The hollow of her nearly empty Mana Pool taunted her slightly, but she set that concern aside. Given how long she'd spent in the Maze with a bone-dry Mana Pool, it was an easily understood feeling. Mana Font had levelled a few times since Amdirlain had emptied her Mana Pool into the crystals, and now she had almost a thousand Mana restored. She traced the Mana dripping from her spiritual net into the pool back to her Soul. It had already caused a change in the connections, widening them despite the Primordial material around her Soul. Observing the Mana, she mirrored its behaviour and deliberately sent tiny droplets of Ki through the connections. As it passed the upper level of the Primordial metall, the material momentarily flexed upwards along the conduit.
It doesn't follow the Mana coming out but traces the path of Ki going in. Cyrus said that minuscule amounts go into the Soul to heal scars naturally. Is that why the material has been wrapping around the connections?
♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫
After the others retired for the evening, Sarah spun a silver dagger in her fingers and offered it to Amdirlain hilt first. "Minor enchantment if you want to pull the Mana from it."
"It seems a waste if you’re planning to feed me objects," objected Amdirlain.
"We’re trying to get your intake to be more efficient. This exercise lets you work your drain and recovery abilities together. Focus on smoothing the flows when drawing the Mana out."
Amdirlain fed a trickle of Mana into the blade and felt the energy flow. Though the enchantment didn't allow it to be reversed, Amdirlain imagined inhaling along the connection. The energy she'd fed it and the blade's enchantment rushed into her, and she concentrated on smoothing the flow into her Mana Pool to avoid spilling it into the environment. The process left the blade a shattered mess, cracking in the pattern of the infused runes. With the first broken, Sarah passed her a second, and they repeated the exercise until Amdirlain felt a change.
[Greater Energy Recovery Unlocked!
Greater Energy Recovery (1)]
“Unlocked. Attempting to smooth the flow worked out.”
"Should I make more toys for you to practise on?" asked Sarah.
The pieces floated to the side table, and Amdirlain smiled at Sarah. "Thanks for the logic check."
"You would have found the simple approach eventually," said Sarah.
"I've got Amplified Energy efficiency to work out now," said Amdirlain.
"Would you like some hints?"
Amdirlain smiled slyly. "What enlightenment would you like to share, great sage?"
"Do you want to get bitten?" grumbled Sarah.
"You’re feeling frisky," laughed Amdirlain.
"I wouldn't be so smug, oh, wife of mine," Sarah pressed firmly on the tip of Amdirlain's nose. "You're still on my naughty list."
"Oops."
That’s fair. I got too focused on knocking things off my list.
Sarah took her hand away and leaned in to steal a soft kiss. She didn't pull away afterwards; her whispered tone lending the words a soft intimacy. "I love you. That's not conditional."
"I love you too."
They held each other close for a while before Sarah gently broke free.
"Back to business. The efficiency improves your Mana expenditure in spells, so we’ll need a place for spellcasting.”
Amdirlain frowned. “Then let’s hold off on that for now. Any other ideas for pushing Mana Font?”
“Unfortunately, it's a Power I've never possessed," advised Sarah. “It just seemed logical that you wouldn’t notice, or perhaps even cause, the generation of Mana if the pool was already full.”
“That part worked. We’ll have to see what else will.”
♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫
They were all in the lounge room talking over breakfast when Gilorn appeared and transformed from her usual harp form into a young woman. She initially seemed like a crystalline statue, but her form softened into flesh and linen robes. Her approach utilised the same fashion dragons used for their transformations, a veil of flesh with their body shifted dimensionally aside. "Can I speak to you about something, Am?"
"Of course. Did everything go okay with the idiot you mentioned?" asked Amdirlain.
"Yes, and I wanted to advise you of the outcome." With a polite nod of greeting to Sarah, Gilorn sat on the opposite end of the couch and rested her head on Amdirlain's shoulder. "I've sealed Orcus up."
Surprised at the news, Amdirlain stiffened but waited for Gilorn to finish.
"I can't go into the deep planes to help you, and I wanted to make your life easier. After seeing what he'd done to that world, I couldn't tolerate his existence, but I knew it wasn't my place to end him."
"I wouldn't have objected if you'd done so," replied Amdirlain.
"He sullied Orhêthurin's plans, and you're her successor, so his punishment is yours to decide. I merely created a prison for him," replied Gilorn.
"What sort of prison?"
Gilorn smiled, fingers idly playing with the seam of her robe. "A supercharged version of a genie's bottle, though it's sheathed in Primordial flames, so few things will survive close to it. Those that can might have their share of grudges against him."
Klipyl giggled. "Does rubbing it set him free?"
"I knew your mind would go there, Klipyl. He finds life offensive, so I taunted him with an off-colour remark," stated Gilorn.
"Do tell," gasped Klipyl playfully. "I need to pass the information to Sage so he can properly document it for the history books."
A loud snort of disbelief provoked a burst of raucous laughter from Klipyl.
"Can you give me the location? I might put some monitoring and extra traps to know when he's free."
"His castle wards are still in place," cautioned Gilorn, but she reluctantly shared the music of its location.
"Why did you change your shape?" asked Amdirlain to change the subject for Gilorn.
"After dealing with that awful world and the demons in the Abyss, I envied Nexus for the hug you gave her," admitted Gilorn. "There is one other thing I referred to my mother honing her wakening strength. I hope that puts some forces on the back foot."
"Time will tell." Amdirlain looped an arm across Gilorn's shoulders and cradled her.
"We've gained a strange family," noted Sarah.
"Strange but good," confirmed Amdirlain.
Gilorn muttered. "True, you are both strange."
"Do you include Master Cyrus among your family?" asked Jinfeng.
"Am should take him on as the strange, quiet uncle," drawled Sarah. "If you want to chat with him, he arrived last night and is rummaging through the library."
Klipyl straightened. "Did he get done with Indra Ka?"
"I don't know what he did about Indra Ka. I contacted him last night, asking if he could help or point me to the best librarian," said Amdirlain. "He was here in minutes. "
"It's good you made Indra Ka someone else's problem," Klipyl stated. "I don't like him."
Jinfeng smiled tightly. "You're not the only one. I think the martial path he encourages is too isolating."
“I agreed, and I’ll be alert for those like him,” said Amdirlain.
"You mentioned yesterday you're going to resume listening to your surroundings," noted Kadaklan, his gaze brightened with curiosity. "But how far can you hear now?"
"A long way."
"That's not an answer," Kadaklan observed.
Amdirlain's mischievous smile lit her gaze. "Your understanding of distance isn't mine."
The smug lilt to her words had Kadaklan rolling his eyes.
"What do you hope to learn at this stop?" asked Gilorn.
"Unless they have a copy of the Ki Movement technique and someone knowledgeable in it, the most probable acquisition is a technique for my Ki Strike," advised Amdirlain. "Since Ki Infusion and Ki State combined into Ki Body, I should be able to amplify the energy in my flesh through the Ki Strike with a suitable technique."
"Something more than the claws you were sinking into Balnérith?"
"Yes, some techniques can extend the energy a dozen metres and carry the armour penetration effect of Ki Strike with it," clarified Amdirlain. "Are you staying around a while?"
"No, I felt I needed to let you know about Orcus before I returned to work with the Lómë," advised Gilorn. "We've got several worlds restored now. I taught them the old songs to learn what needs tending."
"You've been getting the list from Gideon."
"I didn't know who provided the list, but we've been conducting smaller repairs and pushing their capabilities."
Jinfeng coughed. "Repairing worlds?"
Klipyl patted her shoulder reassuringly. "Its different hearing them discuss it so readily. Think of it like cleaning up a house after a storm on a bigger scale."
"Is it?"
"A normal person mops the floor or picks up broken objects, a skilled practitioner or magical gifted moves trees, shifts boulders or topsoil, and the Lómë can shift the ground to calm volcanoes," explained Amdirlain.
Jinfeng smiled shyly. "And you make new suns?"
"Suns, stars, whatever you want to call them, don't repair existing worlds. Rather, they're for the realm to continue expanding," replied Amdirlain. Standing, she offered a relaxed smile. "If you want to see a pure, less scary creation, I can show you next time I make a Demi-Plane. I've been told it's a relaxing experience. For now, I'll go hassle Master Cyrus and see if he has found some possibilities for me to study."
"I think I'd like that. How does learning any of the Ki techniques help you?" persisted Jinfeng.
Amdirlain paused thoughtfully. "How to explain it? Say each ability produces a different volume of noise. Physical effort is the lowest upwards through Ki, psionics, spells, blessings, and onward to True Song, which is the noisiest of that list. The more capabilities I have at the lower end, the more chance I have of not attracting attention in places where beings are sensitive to noise at the higher end."
"You're going to be subtle in dangerous places?" asked Jinfeng sceptically. "I thought your success rate in that area wasn't high?"
"Think of it more like precision than subtlety in that I will be as quiet as possible. I'll listen and either avoid or kill only the things that get in my way with the least ability I need to utilise," clarified Amdirlain. "I'll leave you folks to it and go hassle Sifu."
"I'll be on my way as well. Sarah, I'll top up whatever materials you use from the stockpile in Foundry each day. Let me know if there is anything you need beyond those," said Gilorn, and she promptly vanished.
"You two take after each other," giggled Klipyl.
Amdirlain winked and cloaked herself in invisibility before she teleported to the reception area of the Library.
Silkscreens decorated the place with a mixture of historical battles and the origin stories of various figures, mainly from the West Wind's Court. Though Amdirlain only recognised some, their black-and-white motif matched Bai Hu's, rather than those dedicated to the Black Tortoise Xuan Wu, the Azure Dragon Qinglong, and The Vermilion Bird Zhuque.
The librarians were already busy with enquiries, so Amdirlain slipped along the pathways to study rooms filled with bookcases and cabinets stuffed full of scrolls and tablets. She found Cyrus in a side area where he had a collection of assorted texts spread out on a round table before him with even more stacked in two book carts beside him. As he closed a book with a look of dissatisfaction, he placed it on the emptiest of the carts and picked another from the table. He glanced up where only the barest outline of her form was discernible.
"Am, for someone who knows how to make an impression, you can be sneaky when you want to be," commented Cyrus. "How long were you sitting across from me?"
"A few minutes. I didn't want to let the invisibility drop at once and get smacked in the ear."
Cyrus snorted. "I'm positive you could dodge any attempt from me now."
"Why take the risk? Did I cause you this much research at the Outpost?" asked Amdirlain.
"There is far more here. I've narrowed the field, but the Court's library is more extensive in the animal-styled techniques that have attracted your interest," replied Cyrus. He pushed a book with a white tool-leather cover across the table.
Amdirlain traced her fingers across the decorative cover. "How many of these techniques do you know?"
"I'm familiar with or know many, but for some, we'll have to find an instructor," advised Cyrus.
"It might be better to work through them together if you're confident we can avoid traps."
Cyrus tapped the table briefly before he shook his head. "No, I won't place my ego ahead of you getting the best teacher for a technique."
"The best teacher might be one I can trust. I don’t need another well-meaning individual like Nazha to help," argued Amdirlain as she contemplated the room's contents. "You asked the librarians to bring you all animal-style techniques?"
"Yes."
Amdirlain floated a red leather scroll case from the cart. "Phoenix claws."
"Just because the name is suitable doesn't mean the approach will gel with your perception of Ki," cautioned Cyrus. "Still, it is a properly auspicious name and another from the South Wind's Court."
Untying the ribbon from around the case, he set it to one side and unfurled the scroll within.